Abstract
Since 1989, Poland’s foreign policy has been focused on its integration with the Western European structures, namely, the European Union (EU), NATO, and the Council of Europe (CofE). This orientation has naturally had an adverse impact on the development of the eastern and, to a lesser extent, the northern dimension in Poland’s foreign policy. The concentration on the West has had perhaps the least negative influence on the southern and eastern directions of Poland’s policy. Whereas relations with Western Europe remain the main priority in Poland’s foreign policy, her southern policy, with Poland’s institutional presence in CEFTA (Central European Free Trade Agreement), CEI (Central European Initiative), and the Vysehrad Group (VG) and eastern institutional relations between Poland and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), appears to be subsidiary to the western policy, that is, one that contributes to integration with the Western European structures.
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Notes
- 1.
For a long time the Vysehrad Group (formerly the Vysehrad Triangle) was considered a structure that was to help Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia in joint efforts aimed at full integration with NATO and the European Union.
- 2.
The Baltic Sea is a shallow basin with maximum depth of 459 m and average depth of only 52 m.
- 3.
The theory of Baltic rings also includes the second Baltic ring covering countries or territories that are actively engaged in Baltic cooperation but are not located directly on the Baltic Sea. The author first announced publicly the theory of Baltic rings and the concept of Baltic triangle in the course of his lectures at the University of Catania in 1997. The theory was subsequently presented in print in “Geopolitical Model of the Baltic Europe in the Nineties” (Ruszkowski 1999b).
- 4.
- 5.
This refers to the former Soviet republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. In the future the other candidate countries will rather create the Mediterranean dimension (Cyprus and Bulgaria).
- 6.
Both countries may join the EU simultaneously or on different dates.
- 7.
President Aleksander Kwasniewski officially rejected the proposal during his short visit to Moscow and his conversation with Vladimir Putin on June 6, 2002.
- 8.
A week before the Rome Summit, the EU sent Russia a memorandum rejecting the demand for creation of a corridor. Compare Wehner 2002.
- 9.
- 10.
Apart from Poland these included Germany, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. In 1995, Iceland joined the Council.
- 11.
Civic security was included into cooperation areas supported by the Council as late as July 1996 under one of the action programs adopted at the meeting of foreign ministers of member states in Kalmar. The action programs were in fact a confirmation of similar resolutions adopted at the summit of heads of government of member states held in Visby on the island of Gotland in May 1996. Compare “Ostsee-Anrainer wollen Kriminalität verstärkt bekämpfen” 1996.
- 12.
The last state to ratify the Helsinki Convention was Germany. In this context one cannot agree with A.B. Kisiel-Lowczyc who in Rietig (1996, 14) claims that HELCOM was set up in an institutionalized form as an international organization in 1974, because it is evident that HELCOM came into being six years later.
- 13.
Poland signed both the original and the new Helsinki Convention.
- 14.
In April 1992, ministers of the environment of the parties to the Helsinki Convention and a representative of EC signed a new Helsinki Convention. The new Helsinki Convention puts emphasis on restoration of ecological balance in the Baltic Sea (control of water quality, impact of pollution on Baltic fauna and flora, and quality of coastal waters). Furthermore, the Helsinki Convention bans insecticides such as DDT and PCB and prohibits dumping of waste from vessels, incineration of waste, and so on. Compare HELCOM Programme Implementation Task Force 1997 (this document is in the possession of the author).
- 15.
These included: Poland, Belarus, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, and Russia.
- 16.
Meetings held within the framework of this program are attended mainly by ministers for spatial planning of countries participating in VASAB.
- 17.
However, VASAB is dependent on national spatial development conceptions.
- 18.
Interreg IIC is a program initiated by the European Commission (EC) in 1990. It serves mainly to support cross-border cooperation. In 2000, the EC started the third edition of the program known as Interreg IIIC, which is to last until 2006. For further details of Interreg, see Ruszkowski et al. (2002, 115–17). Within the framework of the EU financial perspective for the years 2007-2014 functioned program Interreg IV and, since 2015. Interreg V also known as Interreg Europe.
- 19.
For further details of levels of subregional Baltic cooperation, see Ruszkowski (1999c).
- 20.
For further details, see Ruszkowski (1999c).
- 21.
The town of Międzyzdroje also wants to join the group.
- 22.
Apart from Polish communities, this Euroregion includes the enclave of Kaliningrad (Russia), the island of Bornholm (Denmark), southeast Sweden, the Klaipeda district (Lithuania), and Liepaja (Latvia).
- 23.
The UBC Secretariat has its headquarters in Gdansk.
- 24.
These include: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Germany, and Russia.
- 25.
“Głos Szczeciński” (1998, 3), An effect of Szczecin’s activity in the UBC, and specifically in the UBC Culture Commission, is Mare Articum, the first international arts magazine published in Poland (Szczecin) and distributed in the BSR.
- 26.
These five ports are full members of BPO.
- 27.
Leba Marina is a friendship member of BPO.
- 28.
K. Urbas replaced at this post by Henning Hummelmose from the Copenhagen Port.
- 29.
Now SODICOBA II.
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Ruszkowski, J. (2016). A Geopolitical and Institutional Model of Poland’s Participation in the New Baltic Europe. In: Katsikides, S., Hanappi, H. (eds) Society and Economics in Europe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21431-3_4
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