Poland membership in the EU and visa requirements on the Ukrainian- Polish border is a fait accompli. The Ukrainian-Polish conference on European integration, now underway in Kyiv, is debating whether all this can be of benefit for Ukraine. Jaroslaw PETRAS, chairman of the Polish delegation, Deputy State Secretary of the European Integration Committee of Poland, is optimistic. He is convinced that Poland can make efforts to bring Ukraine closer to the EU and establish the “points of contact” between Ukraine and the West, which will help break stereotypes. Yet, Mr. Petras says we must improve ourselves, which is in no way a new touch: failure to understand this has already placed the festival of European integration on the streets of our neighbors.
“It is widely claimed that Poland’s EU membership will have a positive effect on Ukraine. Any details, please?”
“The admission of Poland to the European Union will obviously have some impact on her foreign relations, including those with Ukraine. Yet, this will be a positive impact, as far as our neighbors are concerned.
“What Ukraine will gain politically is an essential EU ally who will be interested in the EU pursuing a more favorable policy towards Ukraine. In search of its place in the enlarged European Union, Poland will be trying to do its utmost for other European states to concentrate themselves on Central and Eastern Europe, for the problems of the latter to be also the subject of EU discussions, for the European Union to acquire a new dimension, the dimension of Central and Eastern Europe, as Brussels already has, for example, the northern and Mediterranean dimensions. It is our intention that we, together with the countries now joining the EU, such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia, or the countries to be admitted to the EU later, such as Romania and Bulgaria, or those we are closely linked with, such as Ukraine, might have greater opportunities for having our problems discussed at European Union forums, enlist the support of EU funds, and have EU institutions extending their activities to these regions. The first positive thing for Ukraine is receiving greater opportunities for cooperation with the whole European Union, in which Poland will be exerting influence on policy-making.
“We also think that Poland’s EU membership will have a positive effect from the economic point of view. Firstly, Poland will impose the current EU customs tariffs which are lower than the duties now applicable in Poland: this will make it easier for Ukrainian goods to enter the Polish market.
“Secondly, Poland will be developing its own infrastructure which will be part of the trans-European trading, railway, and highway corridors: this will also expand Ukraine’s capacity to export its goods not only to Poland but also elsewhere.
“Thirdly, Poland will be seeking development and expansion opportunities not only within the EU because this is a very saturated market. We will be seeking, outside the EU, the opportunities of intensifying cooperation with our neighbors, with Ukraine being our natural partner.
“Next, we will be promoting Ukraine’s participation in other forums. In particular, Ukraine is trying to join the World Trade Organization, which is of great importance for various economic interests.
“As Poland is heavily integrated into the EU, it is applying all the mandatory EU regulators, such as the common customs policy and the border control requirements, including visas. I am afraid we have no other option here. Yet, we can always think over the methods of solving this problem, so that we could, on the one hand, meet all the Schengen zone requirements and, on the other hand, facilitate cross-border cooperation. It is very essential that the Ukrainian-Polish border be a EU border, on the one hand, and promote cooperation, on the other. Although it is difficult, we have begun talks to find a suitable solution.
“How can Poland help Ukraine? This question is should be viewed, above all, in the context of the way Poland has passed. We began to prepare for EU membership, to take effect on May 1, 2004, in the early 90s. In 1991, when we signed the associated membership agreement, we set in motion the process of adapting the law, institutions, and various procedures to EU standards. Everything was subject to a slow, gradual, but continuous, adaptation. This is a very hard way, for it requires very serious domestic changes. In my opinion, it would be a very good idea to tell our Ukrainian counterparts about how it was done, what was of top and low priority, so that they do not repeat our mistakes.”
“What were the mistakes?”
“The worst mistake was the opinion that EU membership is, above all, a political process. Obviously, integration into the EU does have a political dimension and calls for political decisions. But this integration also requires a solid foundation based on internal changes in the country. Polish parliamentary and even governmental members often said, ‘Why should we revise our good Polish law?’ Yet, to join the EU, we have to revise everything, for we are going to be part of the same market. We are obliged to admit that EU legal norms should be a fragment of our domestic law-and-order system.
“These changes are very difficult to coordinate, project and prioritize. Some standards should not be changed too rapidly; there must be a clear-cut order. For example, one must first revise the laws related to the responsibility of a producer for his products and only then the laws related to certification, but not the other way round.
“No other country conducted so protracted talks before this wave of EU enlargement as we did. We applied for membership in 1994 and are going to join in 2004: the process lasted 121 months.”
“Will there be any essential difference in Poland’s policy towards Ukraine and other neighboring countries?”
“Of all our neighbors, Ukraine is of paramount importance because we thought from the very outset that it would be to the benefit of Poland and the region as a whole if Ukraine managed to strengthen its independence and find a place in this region of Europe.
“Our immediate neighbors formed two categories of states: the prospective EU members — the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Lithuania — with which we will cooperate within the EU framework, and such states as Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. We maintain somewhat different relations with each of these countries, which in turn stems from somewhat different considerations. For example, Russia has never declared an intention to integrate into Europe, while Ukraine is a state for which the question of being part of Europe and approaching the EU is of great importance. It is very essential for us because it has a bearing on the policy we would like to pursue. At the same time, Belarus is a special case, for its current policies are not oriented to close cooperation with the EU.
“As part of the EU, Poland would like not only to pursue a bilateral policy of its own but also to affect the EU policy. We share the EU opinion about what is known as ‘broad Europe,’ and we have put across our own vision of this concept. We have drawn up a document for discussion, which shows our desire to determine EU policies.
“By force of proximity and traditional links, our relations with Ukraine are very meaningful and well-motivated. This Polish- Ukrainian conference on European integration is in fact the only one of this kind with our neighbors. We discuss the problems of border security, justice, visas, the economy, investments, and trade.”
“How can strategic partnership look like in the new conditions?”
“The EU has granted Ukraine a certain special status. The EU mapped out such a policy towards Ukraine back in Helsinki (in 1999 — Ed.). It is now time to give a new definition to the further stage of cooperation. The EU is enlarging, and Ukraine is coming closer to the EU because it is becoming a borderline state. This raises the question of how the other EU countries and Ukraine itself react to this situation.
“Ukraine is also seeking the formula of a more intensive cooperation with the EU. And we would like to help, for example, to switch over from cooperation to association. Ukraine could perhaps achieve the status that Poland had before it began the EU admission negotiations.”
“Can the EU support all that you said?”
“From the formal angle, the EU-Ukraine cooperation program is drawing to a close. One must think, one way or another, about a new format of cooperation from 2004 onwards. On the one hand, this will depend on the EU, and we want to make our own efforts in this direction. To press our case, we say we are highly interested that our partner, with which we maintain close cooperation and which still is our neighbor, be granted a special EU status.
“On the other hand, this also depends on whether Ukraine will opt for intensive and strong contacts with the EU. But this is relative to the progress of domestic adaptations. Whether this will be a slow and lengthy process will depend on the developments in the EU and in Ukraine, as well as on Ukraine’s policies. I came to a conclusion after talks at the Ukrainian foreign ministry that Ukraine is determined to work for deeper relations with the EU.”
“There are not so many supporters of Ukraine today in the EU and NATO. Poland undoubtedly is one of such supporters. Do you know by your experience how this situation can be reversed?”
“As a matter of fact, support is hard to get. We ourselves are now convinced that other countries support our actions only when they can derive an interests out of this. There should be certain grounds for this.
“Poland is Ukraine’s true partner and supporter because it is in our interests that Ukraine should come closer to and develop cooperation with Europe and our country. This guarantees Poland’s everlasting support for Ukraine’s efforts. But we must remember that such reasoning is of lesser importance for others. The first thing we must do is find the points of contact, the foundation on which sympathy can be built. I think the dialogue at the recent Warsaw conference showed that if we discuss obvious problems and try to find solutions and break certain stereotypes, we can create a different climate. Poland’s attempts to improve the image of Ukraine at various forums help find such points of contact. It is very difficult to explain obvious facts unless ample grounds have been laid. We have also seen countries which strongly supported Poland as well as those which were not exactly pushing our country into the EU. To turn the situation over, we had to make very many changes inside the country.”
