Poznan Summit another Good Opportunity for Western Balkans

“We are working day and night to get everything according to the highest level in every aspect for the progress of the events,” the Summit coordinator Wieslaw Tarka pledged while leading the journalists from six WB countries to see all the facilities of the venue which will be available for the 2019 Western Balkans Summit  in Poznan 

Genc Mlloja reporting from Warsaw

“Poland joined the ‘Berlin Process’ in 2018, and this year it took over the presidency of this Initiative. The pillars of the Polish presidency are: economy, connectivity, civic dimension and security,” has said Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland Szymon Szynkowski.

Mr. Szynkowski said that in a presentation of details on the Western Balkans Summit to be held in the city of Poznan on 4 – 5 July, 2019 to a group of journalists from Western Balkans countries, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia,  who are on a study visit to Poland prior to the Summit.

“Economic cooperation is the first pillar and the event will have it in focus,” said the State Secretary during a luncheon hosted by him for the journalists which was also attended by Jedrzej Solarski, deputy mayor of Poznan on June 10. In addition, he said that connectivity is very important as it means all kinds of connections between the region and EU.  Speaking of what will take place in Poznan he said that there will be many side events and he referred to the Balkan Cultural Week which included concerts, exhibitions, films, culinary activities etc.

“We should teach our people that the Balkans is part of Europe. We should not preach and give lectures,” Mr. Szynkowski said, reiterating Poland’s support to EU enlargement towards Western Balkans. On the other hand, the senior Polish diplomat said that the Visegrad Group countries support enlargement.  “I hope the friends of enlargement will encourage the spirit of enlargement,” he said. “We need a stable neighborhood in the region. EU feels safe having good neighbors.”

The State Secretary pointed out that the Balkans has become a focus of tourists and according to him this can contribute to bringing EU and WB closer. In addition, he underscored that Albania is becoming an important destination for Polish tourists.

Earlier on that day Mr. Wieslaw Tarka, Summit coordinator,informed the journalists on the ongoing preparations being made for the Summit and other meetings which will be held on that occasion. According to him, given the speed of work and the time of the Summit they expected that everything will be ready to host the participants in the events.

The journalists visited the venue of the 2019 Western Balkans Summit in Poznan on June 10 which was the first leg of their tour which will last until June 15.

“We are working day and night to get everything according to the highest level in every aspect for the progress of the events,” the Summit coordinator said, while leading the journalists to see all the facilities which will be available for the Summit.

WB a Good Destination for Polish Entrepreneurs “Integration should be faster for the Western Balkans and the end goal is European integration of all the countries of the region,” said Marcin Ociepa, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology in a meeting with the group of journalists from the Western Balkans countries on June 11. He considered the Poznan Summit as another good opportunity for the region and its integration aspiration. “There will be some good decisions from Poznan Summit,” he said, adding that, however, money is needed. In his view administration, civil society and economic integration among Western Balkan countries are important for the region in their EU drive. But he was of the opinion that each country has its peculiarities.

Mr. Ociepa spoke of Poland’s path to democracy during the last 30 years.

“We can share our experiences, but it will happen when the Western Balkans countries agree to share them,” he said, pledging that his country was ready to help. 

Asked about the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia, he said that in his view they should resolve their problems on their own. “I think they would not want outside interference to settle their problems.”Answering a question by Albanian Daily News if there will be other ‘exits’ in the Union after the ‘Brexit’, the senior Polish official said:

“It is true that there are movements and trends within the ranks of the EU. But we do not expect any exits.”  Instead he said that he would have wanted the Union to cover the entire Continent, especially in the face of Brexit. Seeing things against the current background, the State

Secretary Ociepa believed that the WB integration is important and EU should realize this.

Speaking of Poland’s economy, he said that his country’seconomy is growing fast marking the highest rate in the EU. “We encourage our entrepreneurs to be more active in the world. But Western Balkans is seen as good destination for Polish entrepreneurs,” he said, listing as eventual fields of cooperation energy, renewal energy, agriculture, food processing, manufacturing etc.

‘Berlin Process’ Inspires Integration of People of WB and EU

“Poland supports the enlargement policy because we are a fresh member of the European Union. You should know that we have been a member of the Union for 15 years. And we remember all the problems and challenges and obstacles that we had to overcome,but also the solutions that we had managed to figure out,” said Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland Szymon Szynkowski

– The Poznan Summit will be held in the beginning of July as the consecutive annual event since the Berlin Process has been launched. What will be significant in it in view of a new momentum of this Process?

– We would like that the most important element of this event to be the Civil Society. I believe that the integration of the Western Balkans countries and their people with the EU has to come and grow with the learning and understanding and it has to be a bottom up process. And only then the political agenda can meet what is to be done on the ground.

– How can this Process promote the EU integration of the WB and give a boost to enlargement of the block towards that region?

– The promotion of the integration has been since long on the agenda of the Western Balkans and European countries. You have to remember that with regard to enlargement policy some steps have to be made. So, for example, it is part of the enlargement to open the new chapter on the negotiations for the EU accession and it is the part of the enlargement’s policy to start the procedure of the enlargement like it will happen in the case of Albania.

But there are some procedure limitations in some steps that have to be followed unfortunately, and the enlargement policy has its elements that cannot be avoided. Therefore we think that it is good that there is such an institution as the Berlin Process, which is a field to inspire and motivate the integration on various levels between the people of the Western Balkans and the people of the European Union.

– Poland is an outstanding supporter of peace and stability in the Western Balkans. Which are some of the reasons for such a stance, and secondly how is this supportive approach coordinated by V4?

– Poland supports the enlargement policy because we are a fresh member of the European Union. You should know that we have been a member of the Union for 15 years. And we remember all the problems and challenges and obstacles that we had to overcome, but also the solutions that we had managed to figure out.

On one hand we figure that we want to share this experience with you. We are bound to share this experience with others that want to follow the same path as we did. But also, on the other hand, it is in our best interest to have first a stable neighborhood and then just a neighborhood that wants to join the EU family.

An area of well-being and security and stabilization is very good for all the parties involved. Therefore we are very happy for such initiatives as the Berlin Process and the Eastern Partnership.

In the meantime it is the Institution V4 that is connected by the experience of joining the EU in 2004 and all the member states can share the same experience. We are strong supporters of the enlargement policy. On the other hand, I am personally very happy that in the Bratislava meeting which we had some time ago of the ministers of foreign affairs of V4 made a clear statement that we support the enlargement policy and namely support the efforts of Albania and North Macedonia to join the Union.

–As I am meeting you in Poznan, in Poland, please, what can you say on the atmosphere of therelations between Albania and Poland?

– Yes, there is history between our states. And, yes, Poland itself has a history as a state.  There will be a small surprise that I will like to unveil that speaks of a concrete connection of Poznan and the Western Balkan states, Albania in particular. I can reveal that this surprise will be a part of a gift for the participants of the Summit. In the city of Poznan in the National Museum here we have the biggest collection of Albanian folk arts.

There is a connection between our two states. We have always supported Albania for example in the time of crisis in 1990s, but I am very happy to say that the Albanian story is a story of success. We want to support this kind of message.