Min. Sikorski odczyt na uniwersytecie w Lejdzie fot. M. Bos-Karczewska_Polonia.nl

 

 

The lecture „Poland, the Netherlands and the EU – Common Challenges”
 

 

Min Sikorski w Lejdzie 12-6-2013 fot. Bos-Karczewska

fot. M. Bos-Karczewska /Polonia.nl

The lecture „Poland, the Netherlands and the EU – Common Challenges” delivered by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski at the University of Leiden on 12th of June 2013.
You can watch it here

  • QUOTES from the speech of minister Sikorski:

On Europe:
„We need more of in Europe: innovation to boost our competitive edge in the world and completion of the single market ensuring the four freedoms that are the cornerstone of this ambitious project.

„The EU was founded on the spirit of solidarity. The area of peace and prosperity should be extended as far as possible and enjoyed by all citizens, and not just the select few.

„I believe that our common European project is not just a game played by those in the big league with the supranational Commission playing the role of a counterweight.

„We should be deepening integration within the current legal regime. There is no need to multiply institutional frameworks.

„I see no reason for keeping the EU’s institutional architecture so complicated. What I do see is the pressing need for the European Parliament to become more representative and less self-absorbed. To put it another way: I would be more afraid of the current EU institutions’ lack of capacity to govern the Union than I am afraid of their excess of powers.

„It is in everyone’s interest to have a sound fiscal policy.(…) This is also very Dutch – AFSPRAAK IS AFSPRAAK, A deal is a deal. We must respect the deals we make and we must observe the rules we create. Otherwise, it would be utterly futile to devise yet another mechanism, procedure or regulation.

On Dutch-Polish coalition within the EU
„What I seek from the Dutch-Polish relations is that we set up at least one coalition within the EU. A firm advocacy coalition of two countries to champion a clear-cut Union. A Union that fully applies the subsidiarity principle and safeguards freedom and well-being of all Europeans. Both Poland and the Netherlands opt for sound EU finances and understand the importance of investing in the future. What we should strive for is an open Europe that fosters strong ties with other strategic players in the world, acts as source of inspiration and a centre of gravity for its neighbours.

Holandia – Niderlandy – popular Polish saying „Ofiarować komuś Niderlandy”
„Do you know what we call your country in Polish? We call it Holandia. Much to the regret of one Dutch ambassador in Warsaw who preferred to call it Niderlandy. Quite unnecessarily. For, you see, there is quite a popular saying in Polish, disseminated among the larger public by the Nobel prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz in his novel “The Deluge”: obiecywać komuś Niderlandy, ‘to offer somebody the Netherlands’. This means to promise somebody the moon − something very attractive but beyond our reach.

„As I travel throughout Europe and beyond, I cannot help but notice the praise Poland receives for its economic growth, stability, and good governance. We are being sought out for advice. There is an expectation that Poland will be at the forefront of showing the way out of the crisis. This is flattering. It makes me proud. Yet, there are certain sceptical well-wishers who think that Poland is trying to offer the Netherlands to Europe. Well, economic indicators, to say the least, point to the contrary.

  • Q&A after the lecture by minister Sikorski

Sikorski on the freedom of movement of labour in the EU

“The labour movement in the EU is not emigration. We don’t regard for example the Poles who have come to work in the Netherlands as settlers in your country. We don’t encourage them to leave Poland and to settle but encourage to come back as we have a demographic gap. I suspect you will miss them when they come back. Your farmers will certainly miss them. (..) When the crisis ends we will have labour shortages, we already have them in some areas of the country and in some sectors of the economy.

„Many of my compatriots move around Europe. This is one of Europe’s freedoms. I tell you frankly, we will veto any attempt to compromise on one of these four freedoms of the single market. But this not to say that the member states should not be able to regulate their social provisions. You are a richer country then we are, so you have more generous unemployment benefits. We feel that if people have jobs, they are free to take them, if they don’t we welcome them back home. And if you have gaps in your social security system, you are free to plug them.

PRESS:
Sikorski w Leiden: Skończmy z obwinianiem UE za niepopularne działania
Sikorski w Holandii: Polacy nie obciążają holenderskiej pomocy społecznej
Sikorski: Przestańmy zrzucać odpowiedzialność na Unię
Szefowie MSZ Polski i Holandii bronią swobody przepływu osób w UE

TWEETS:

 

 

 

 

Opublikowane na portalu Polonia.NL 12.06.2013, update 13.06.2013
– Wydawca portalu: STEP – Stowarzyszenie Ekspertów Polskich w Holandii. Czytaj o nas

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