Today's Date:

Visit to Poland – Speech by Claudie Haignere, Minister Delegate for European Affairs at the Centre for International Relations (excerpts) .

Warsaw, September 20, 2004

Franco-Polish relations and the European enterprise

Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to come to Warsaw for the first time as Minister Delegate for European Affairs, a few months after Poland's accession to the European Union and a few weeks before President Kwasniewski's visit to Paris for the magnificent Polish cultural season in France.

Being on Polish soil, in a reunited Europe ten years after Poland presented her candidature, in April 1994, gives a feeling of immense satisfaction and of a corrected injustice.

(...)

WEIMAR TRIANGLE

The landmark idea of the Weimar Triangle, implemented by Foreign Ministers Skubiszewski, Genscher and Dumas, is taking on a new dimension with Poland's accession to the EU. As Presidents Kwasniewski and Chirac and Chancellor Schröder agreed at the Wroclaw Summit, in May 2003, the aim today is to move forward together on the European issues. (...)

FRANCE/POLAND/IRAQ/EU CONSTITUTION

We've had, in the recent past, some difficult moments: the different choices France and Poland made in the Iraq crisis, and the Constitutional Treaty negotiations created some tensions, misunderstandings and incomprehension between us. Some commentators talked about an old couple's tiffs. (...)

France and Poland still don't have the same approach to the major European and international issues. Well then, let's talk, listen to each other, find the words to get through to each other and not let ourselves be locked into caricature positions – the egoistical French and intransigent Poles...

(...) France and Poland are in favour of pursuing European integration whilst safeguarding a principle of efficiency and subsidiarity (...).

The future Constitutional Treaty, which we're going to sign together in November, will help bring people closer to the institutions, make the EU more efficient and ensure it carries more weight in world affairs.

In France as in Poland, we shall have to do a great deal of explaining to win the battle for ratification. We'll both be doing this in autumn 2005.

The future treaty sorts out the operation of the 25- and soon to be 27-member EU. But it doesn't answer all the questions and in particular how to give a new boost to our model of sustainable growth. (...)

LISBON STRATEGY/EU BUDGET

The debate on the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy will give us the opportunity to reassess the European model.

We are approaching this debate with points of view which reflect our respective situations. Quite obviously, these aren't identical. Nevertheless, I don't believe they have to lead to conflicts.

You are demanding the right to economic catch-up and we willingly acknowledge it. It is, moreover, in our enlightened interest, that of our people and of our businesses, since it will guarantee stability and be a source of growth.

We owe you our solidarity and are ready to exercise it. France, who is a significant beneficiary of the European budget, will in the next budgetary period – 2007-2013 – be a major net contributor. We want the new member States to be able to benefit to the full from the European funds they are entitled to. We want priority to be given to the cohesion policy and the structural funds which go with it. The potential benefit for Poland is substantial, since it involves nearly €70 billion for the next financial perspective.

In the face of the radical changes in our industrial societies and of the burdens on our local authorities, solidarity can't be one-way. There's no question of delaying necessary reforms already set in train by M. Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government. On the other hand, it has to be clearly understood that we can't indulge in unfair tax competition between us, European partners, since if we do we'll always find more cut-throat competitors.

EDUCATION, RESEARCH, TRAINING SEMINAR

We share the concern to strengthen Europe's global competitiveness. We shall have together to identify the possible ways of ensuring the EU's scientific and technological excellence. Together, we can work to strengthen "knowledge Europe".

The intergovernmental seminar, devoted to education, research and training, which will take place in Paris before the end of the year under the chairmanship of our two Prime Ministers, will be totally devoted to this subject.

CFSP/EUROPEAN DEFENCE/NATO

After my meeting today with the Foreign Minister and my friend and colleague, Jaroslaw Pietras, I am convinced that we, French and Poles, not only share this European ideal which we have forged, each in our own way, from Jean Monnet to Lech Walesa, but we also agree on the need to work concretely together on very many matters of common interest.

We must together give Europe a political project, allow it to emerge as a fully-fledged player in international life. A great country like Poland, with a wealth of historical experiences, has much to contribute to the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy. It can also make an effective contribution to the development of a European defence in perfect harmony with NATO, in which our two countries play leading political and military roles.

EU NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES POLICY

Let's also work on defining a genuine neighbouring countries policy for the European Union with the Ukraine, Russia and our Mediterranean partners. We must pool our ideas and show imagination in order to build a very close and trusting relationship with these countries. On this depend our security and the stability of our whole continent.

On all these matters, I should like France and Poland to inject momentum and be a source of initiatives. The landmark events ahead of us will give us the opportunity to do so./.