Dominika Kasprowicz, deputy director of the Villa Decius Association, moderated this year's panel debate between Hungarian, Polish and Slovakian diplomats. “A time of great uncertainty is coming about, a new balance of power.“ And this, according to Dominika Kasprowicz, demands more political awarness, more interest of what is going on – and likewise demands more intensive cooperation of the V4 with each other and their closest neighbours.
Considering dynamics and considering traditions
Brexit was one of the important topics. Great Britain's decision to leave the EU is widely apprehended as a shock, a drama in the European Union. But according to Adrienne Körmendy, Hungarian Consul General in Krakow, we should rethink this attitude: “Let's look at the history of our countries and of our continent: All basically consists of certain crisis. No single generation in history did not experience something percussive.“ And she concluded: “So let's be optimists! The world is dynamic. And if it wouldn't be dynamic, it would cease to exist. “Instead of regarding Brexit a tragedy, she recommended to look accurately at what is going on, to analyse the situation, to recognize what could be a threat. “In this way, we can make out which procedures could be best for our region, nation and continent. Whenever you face challenge, mobilize yourself to do great things! “Körmendy also made aware of the need to broaden our knowledge about Europe: “We have the duty – and so especially you, the young generation – to know about our history and what our reality is.“ She emphasized that the concept of Europe is built on Christian civilisation – and that Central Europe is the “younger Europe“ which accepted and absorbed the European foundations (Christianity) later, aspiring for the same level as the greater, older part of Europe. So, Central Europe “has always been exposed to greater challenges than the rest of Europe. And the result is that it has a set of common characteristics, much that unites it.“ Regarding all this, Körmendy appealed to the young people to look back at their traditions. Because: “Tradition is a structure that unites people.“
The “Slovakian approach“
The next guest to contribute to the discussion was Adrán Kromka, Consul General of Slovakia. After presenting a short promotion film, he outlined Slovakia's priorities within its current presidency of the Council of the EU (from July till December): Working towards the avoidance of fragmentation in the EU, sustainable migration policy, working on digital markets and energy union (cutting down the dependency on imports, imposing energy security), strengthening the banking union, strengthening the EU as a competitive global player, building on European Neighbourhood Policy and European Enlargement. “We want to be pragmatic, focus on acceptable solutions for all member states“, Kromka stated. He also named some tools and solutions. So, for example, Slovakia intends to mobilize investment tools to work towards an economically strong Europe and a modern European single market. Concerning migration policy, Slovakia wants to focus on the establishment of border funds and on cooperation with North African states. Further objectives the consul general mentioned are employment growth, to create high quality jobs, to improve the education system and to “tighten our relationships to our neighbours“. Regarding Brexit and the question what comes next, Kromka noted: “It's a mesage to all of us: We should not ignore popular sentiments. Issues close to the citizens should be regarded.“ That's why Slovakia particularly aims to foster relations between citizens and the EU, as he explained. And, according to Kromka, “Slovakia is ready to play an active and responsible role in all these undertakings“. He finalized his panel contribution by encouraging the audience to think about how they see the future of Europe.
Facing reality – in point of fact
The perception of reality and its crucial meaning in considerations about geopolitical matters was taken as a focus by the third panel guest – Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, advisor of Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs and coordinator of the Security & Defense Section in the National Development Council of the President of Poland. He started with three statements the audience should recognize: Firstly, politics should be regarded as a movie, not as a picture. Because there are changes, constant dynamics, as he pointed out. Secondly, there is usually a contradiction between what is in the minds and what is reality. Thirdly, the world is not divided into stupid people and those labled as intelligent. “If we do not keep in mind those three statements, we will not be able to understand reality“, he stressed. And he added: „We should not complain but take facts as they are.“ In the following, Żurawski vel Grajewski gave some tools for how to approach reality and mentioned certain tendencies in today's Europe such as Germany's political move southwards. Quite desillusioning, he stated: “No policies are costless, true solidarity is money. Only declarations are costless.“ He also made aware of the fact that there are differing priorities between the EU member states which must not be ignored. Underlining the necessity to respond to the explicit will of the EU citizens, he appealed: “The European Union should get more effective, reform its ambitions. And especially, the European Union should remember: Member states are subjects, not objects! Nothing can be decided without us [the Polish]!“
In the following debate with the audience, the relationship between Russia und the EU became a crucial topic again. So, for example, it was asked how strengthening of military presence on Eastern borders and the objective of peace in Europe could be compatible. Here, Żurawski vel Grajewski underlined that “there is not the slightest hostility in Poland towards Belurussians and Russians. Its all about the military adventures of the Russian Federation. It is necessary to respond to the Russian military buildup. … We have to have the tools on the spot.“ Responding to the question whether it could have been a mistake in the past not to request Russia to join the NATO, he uttered his conviction that it was no mistake – pointing at the situation in Russia in the 90's, the era of Jelcin which he called “a time of confussion“, and amongst others he mentioned the Chechen wars which were decisive. Later on he summarized: “In God we trust. In Europe we trust. But we do not trust in Russia.“
The whole debate was vivid, interactive, and it was well illustrated, how close political life is to real life. However, there was a missing topic in the debate Dominika Kasprowicz appologized for in the end – namely the V4 as cooperators of the EU.
by Jill-Francis Käthliz
