The Polish presidency has also worked to maximise its commitment to Ukraine militarily, economically and politically.
NEW DELHI: Since the assumption of the presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) by Poland in January this year, the focus given has been on achieving stability in the “security” domain. When the EU was deliberating on achieving security in a comprehensive framework, Poland reflected its vision in providing a roadmap for consolidating security in a number of areas including external, internal, information, economic, energy, food and health. Both environmental and climate change also features as a part of priority and inter-linkages have been built and hence “Security, Europe” became a major motto of Polish presidency. The contemporary geopolitical environment obviously has thrown several challenges to the presidency of the council. Hence, the attempt made by Poland in bringing all the major domains of security and seeking solutions for each one of them was not an easy one.
There is no denying the fact that Poland has shown its commitment to raise the debate and explore ways and mechanism in such a limited time of six months of presidency. The Polish programme has been well thought out and will be a part of the 18-month programme of the Poland-Denmark-Cyprus trio where there will be a continuity in realising the goals and achieving the tangibles.
While articulating the external dimension of security, Poland has been pushing to intensify the defence preparedness of Europe. The changing dynamics of geopolitics and varying threat perceptions have warranted the EU to focus on its readiness posture and hence it is anticipated that defence spending is going to be boosted. Though EU lacks a common security and foreign policy and hence, it is going to be a new beginning in consolidating the notion of “common security” in the EU. Poland has also reflected its keen interest in engaging with President Trump and possibly enhance the level of the transatlantic relationship. However, President Trump is yet to understand the larger predicament of the EU security and the significance of “allies” in the US foreign policy.
The Polish presidency has also worked to maximise its commitment to Ukraine militarily, economically and politically. Poland has also shown a greater push for further sanctions against Russia at a time when President Trump is tilting towards Russia. The geopolitical dimension is becoming more and more complicated—full of dichotomy.
As far as internal security threat perceptions are concerned, the Polish presidency has been working to protect the external borders and also find innovative solutions to migration. It is now well understood among EU members in general and the Polish presidency in particular about the perils and devastating impact of the migration in the longer term.
On the issues relating to information security, the Polish presidency has acknowledged and built consensus among EU members about the continuing information warfare and whether EU is prepared to address this. It seems under the Polish leadership, a number of steps has been undertaken including the initiation of multi-layered defence for containing information manipulation and foreign interference. The presidency has also been attempting to dispel the doubts and disinformation on a number of areas including environmental and climate policies. Poland strongly believes that “more and more concentration of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, more and more challenges for climate change”. This perhaps will help in changing the contours of discussion among the members and may come up with a common climate policy which, in turn, will help in addressing to the concerns of the climate change.
There are far too many challenges being confronted by EU in the economic domain. The impact of the world economic meltdown still is not completely gone. Hence, finding solutions to many of these problems at economic security front have not been an easy one. But, to a larger extent, Poland has been looking at how the EU economy could become more competitive and resilient. Poland has also been considering a clean energy transition where the dependence on the use of the fossil fuel will be lessened in due course. How to make energy prices more affordable also formed a part of the debate. The major task before Poland has been to explore ways and means by which Europe’s energy supplies become more secure. The presidency has been seeking full withdrawal from Russian fossil fuel imports and provide access to sufficient energy at lower prices for the sake of competitiveness. It would really be a remarkable achievement.
Assuring food security perhaps features prominently in the Polish presidency. There is a momentum built by the presidency through discussions among council members for evolving a common agricultural policy. It will add value to existing systems and practices. A common agricultural policy would help understand the larger challenges associated with the production and consumption patterns.
The Polish presidency has also been working on having a common public health policy. The post pandemic situations have united all the council members and hence there is a rigorous debate initiated and led by Poland on how there could be a digital transformation of healthcare system. The EU has also been witnessing a rise in mental health cases among children and adolescents and Poland is taking the lead in addressing these in a collective manner.
It must be emphasised here that the Polish presidency has also been working hard in negotiating on the issues relating to payment sources package, digital euro files, the Union Customs Code and Customs Authority. The successor to the Polish presidency, Denmark will inherit a strong legacy in July 2025 and hopefully there will be a culmination of intangibles into tangibles for a better EU and their place in the world.
* Dr Arvind Kumar is Professor at School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.