Historically, Warsaw has always coexisted with the expansionist aims of its neighbors and with the encirclement of hostile powers: for this reason, border security is still today at the forefront of the country’s vital foreign policy interests. Currently, transatlantic relations with the US represent the first guarantee for security and entry into NATOin 1999 it was instrumental in securing US protection in the framework of the common transatlantic defense. Although former US President George W. Bush had initiated a project to install anti-missile systems on Polish territory – a project that met with favor from Warsaw – the current Obama administration canceled the proposal, allowing Poland to initiate the relaxation of relations with Russia.
An abrupt halt to the process of rapprochement with Moscow, however, came on the occasion of the crisis that affected Ukraine at the beginning of 2014. The controversy over whether or not Kiev would sign the Association Agreement with the European Union; the following Russian response in favor of the then Yanukovyč government; Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and the persistence of a state of conflict in eastern Ukraine have raised Poland’s growing concern. The latter, moreover, had promptly supported the pro-European and anti-Russian protests in the streets of Kiev, trying to turn the situation against Moscow. Polish policy towards Russia has therefore become more assertive and Warsaw has led the front of the ‘hawks’ within the EU from the very beginning.to exacerbate the attitude to have towards Moscow. Germany, followed by all the EU countries, after the initial divisions and hesitations, has in fact aligned itself with the Polish position. Following the recent crisis, Poland was one of the most active members in calling for a redeployment of troops of the Atlantic Alliance in Eastern Europe, as well as the establishment of a rapid intervention force – established in autumn 2014 – in which it is one of the main contributors. Moreover, the freezing of the missile shield project has not aroused any concern or resentment towards Washington and Poland has shown its willingness to maintain close ties with the United States. For Poland defense and foreign policy, please check relationshipsplus.com.
The Tusk government, responsible for the decision to withdraw the Polish contingent from Iraq in 2008 (despite the opposition of the then President Kaczyński), had increased the contingent deployed in Afghanistan, responding positively to the appeal with which Barack Obama asked for greater effort by all the participants in the N ato ISAF mission. The Polish government has chosen to focus more on military missions within the EU and NATO, withdrawing its contingents from all UN missions, such as those in Lebanon, Chad and the Golan Heights. In this way, Poland has strengthened cooperation in the European and transatlantic sphere, but to the detriment of its commitment on the front of theinternational peacekeeping. Poland is currently engaged in the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan with 200 soldiers, in Kosovo with Kfor, where it has deployed 246 soldiers, as well as with smaller contingents in the Eufor missions in the Central African Republic and in Bosnia Herzegovina, and with Eutm in Mali.
The Visegrád Group
The Visegrád Group was formed in 1991 by Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, three countries of Central and Eastern Europe that shared common cultural roots and a recent past of subjection to Soviet influence. In 1993, Czechoslovakia was replaced by the two states into which it was divided: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The constitution of the group aimed at overcoming mutual mistrust and establishing close political-economic cooperation, aimed at facilitating the transition to the free market and democracy and accelerating the process of European integration. In the early 1990s, the Group played an important role in the development of negotiations with the EU and N ato. Later, however, cooperation has slowed, even for admission in E u of all four countries, in 2004. Recently, Poland has taken to promote cooperation within the group, suggesting a kind of ‘enhanced cooperation’ in the context of belonging to East u. At present, Visegrád members can have 58 votes in the Council of the European Union. In 2011, the six-month presidency of the Council was first from Hungary and then from Poland. The priorities, as also indicated in the Bratislava Declaration of February 2011, are economic competitiveness, investment attraction, energy security, neighborhood policy with the countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, European relations Atlantic and the link with NATO. In October 2012, under the Polish presidency, a meeting was held between the foreign ministers of the group with their counterparts from the Western Balkans to accelerate the accession of the Balkan countries to the EU.. In April of the same year, the Visegrád Group issued a declaration (‘Responsibility for a Strong Nato’) in which the four participating countries reaffirm their willingness to contribute to the key tasks of the alliance, namely collective defense, crisis management and security. cooperative.
