On the 24th of April our group held an Annual General Meeting in Parliament. We discussed the key issues related to British-Polish relations, such as increased joint efforts in supporting Ukraine, Polish and British defence industry development and plans for another organised trip to Poland.

Afterwards we were joined by Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister. He explained the situation in Poland after the country has accepted millions of Ukrainian refugees. He outlined the need for continuous efforts of supporting Ukraine. If Ukraine was to fall, the Minister declared, other countries would be threatened by Russia. The more is invested now in the joint security, the more peaceful Europe will be, and supporting Ukraine today is an important mission for the NATO bloc. Additionally, the Minister explained that his special role in the Foreign Ministry focuses on helping Poland receive reparations from Germany for the damages in the Second World War. MPs and Lords were shocked to find out, that Poland has never received any meaningful reparations from Germany. It has been commented by one of the participants, that Poland should find a way to negotiate with Germany and receive compensation, just as Ukraine deserves to be compensated by Russia. The rest of the AGM focused on future plans, such as the upcoming Taste of Poland event.

House of Commons, London, 25. 10. 2021. A panel, jointly arranged by the Trimarium think-tank and Daniel Kawczynski MP, discussed Global Britain’s potential role in the ‘Three Seas Initiative’, a rapidly growing economic forum in Central and Eastern Europe.  

The Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is a club of 12 EU countries (Poland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania) that aims to intensify regional cooperation through energy, digital, and infrastructure projects. The projects are funded via the Three Seas Investment Fund, which has seen the United States and the European Commission as its key external investors. 

Continue reading “The New Chapter – Post-Brexit relations between Poland and the UK” →

Poland and Britain’s relations are characterised by a long and harmonious cooperation. Both countries traditionally have had good political and economic relationships. Recently, Britain and Poland were celebrating the 100th anniversary of their mutual diplomatic relations. In 1918, Marshal Józef Piłsudski sent an official, diplomatic letter stating that Poland had become an independent state in the international arena. A year later, in July 1919, diplomatic relations between Great Britain and Poland were officially renewed. London and Great Britain were always very important allies for Poland. Great Britain was one of the first countries which gave its support to the newly formed Poland. Over the years, the friendship between Great Britain and Poland were developed and strengthened, especially during important historical events such as the Second World War. Later this was further amplified throughout the period of the political transformation and peaceful revolution in 1989 which resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2004, Poland become an EU member, and this further intensified the cooperation between London and Warsaw.

The “General Kuklinski – Polish Solitary Mission” mobile exhibition dedicated to General Ryszard Kukliński, a Polish Cold War-era spy for NATO was presented in the House of Commons on Monday.

Continue reading “Polish Military Exhibition about General Kuklinski” →