Ambassador Barry Delongchamps stressed the importance of Polish-French cooperation on nuclear energy, renewables, agriculture and culture Courtesy of the French Embassy

Alice Trudelle: How would you describe relations between France and Poland?

Ambassador Barry Delongchamps: French-Polish relations are excellent, solid and diverse and they take root in a rich common history.

Our two countries have many common interests on European and international issues. Our economic and cultural ties, as your Country Focus shows, are strong. We have multiplied high-levelconsultations on these issues since 2004 and concluded a strategic partnership at the French-Polish summit in Warsaw in May 2008.

The last French-Polish summit in Paris in November 2009 enabled us to deepen our cooperation, particularly on the issues of defense, energy, agriculture and culture. We have celebrated together the bicentennial of the birth of our common fellow countryman, composer Frédéric Chopin.

There have been suggestions from the Polish government that NATO might have to change its strategy in Afghanistan. What is France’s position?

Many soldiers from Poland, France and other countries have paid with their lives for their countries’ commitment to the security and peace of the Afghan people. We owe them a lot.

The strategy in Afghanistan is a global one, adopted by the Allies at NATO’s summit in Bucharest in 2008, and confirmed at the 2009 Strasbourg-Kehl summit. Our priority is the success of this strategy on the ground. France is determined, as part of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force, to contribute to the return of stability, reestablishment of peace and promotion of development in Afghanistan.

IMF, World Bank, Eurostat, Europe Energy Portal

How would you evaluate Poland’s role in the EU up to now and what do you expect from Poland’s 2011 EU presidency?

Poland is one of EU’s most prominent members and plays an increasingly important and welcome role. The election of Mr Buzek to the presidency of the European Parliament is a testimony to this.

I don’t doubt that the Polish presidency will bring progress to the goal which we share – Europe being able to protect its citizens and influence the world’s great evolutions. The Polish presidency should notably enable progress on the Common Security and Defense Policy, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and great economic questions.

In November 2009 Prime Minister Tusk and President Sarkozy agreed to cooperate closely on issues like agriculture and culture, and especially on nuclear energy. How have these avenues evolved?

On the energy level, Polish-French relations are very active, notably on civilian nuclear energy. A bilateral working group on energy meets several times a year, and two training sessions for Polish academics were organized by the French international nuclear Agency (AFNI) in 2009 and 2010.

In the industrial sector, a memorandum of understanding was signed between PGE and EDF to carry a study on the feasibility of the implementation of a series of European Pressurized Reactors (EPR) in Poland. French and Polish nuclear security authorities are also in touch. French authorities at the highest levels have indicated their willingness to cooperate with Poland.

France masters all of the steps of the nuclear cycle, from providing uranium to waste management. Our country is ready to cooperate with Poland on all of these issues.

Our firms are also active in Poland in the renewable energy sector, as well as biomass and clean coal.

Agriculture is also a crucial topic. Poland and France are two of the EU’s great farming countries. We want a strong CAP, with an adapted budget and regulation tools to prevent and manage agriculture crises, as well as to defend the interests of producers and consumers.

Our agriculture ministers have agreed to work on a common position with Germany on the future of the CAP before the end of the year, notably on fair standards for attributing direct aid. Preparatory technical work will also focus on symplifying the CAP.

Cultural exchanges between Poland and France are also particularly strong. Numerous events have been organized this year, such as the Folle Journée and the Ballet Chopin.

As for higher education, about 3,000 Poles are studying in France and a growing number of young French people are coming to study in Poland (600 currently). Over 20 joint higher education courses are proposed by French and Polish universities.

Language is an integral part of culture, and apart from the Lycée Franćais in Warsaw, 32 bilingual francophone sections are active in Polish high schools and colleges. It is a program that I encourage. I also intend to develop more lively and active Alliances Franćaises like the one that already exists in Łódź at the Manufaktura shopping mall.

In 2007, President Sarkozy said that “Turkey has no place inside the European Union.” Poland has said many times that it is in favor of Turkey’s accession to the EU. How do you think the question of Turkey’s EU membership will be resolved?

The French position is well known. Turkey, like Russia, is a key partner of the European Union.

Our mutual interest is to continue the rapprochement between Turkey and the EU. So France is in favor of continuing negotiations and the opening of new chapters, as long as they are compatible with our vision of the final result of the negotiations.

In part because of its EU membership and its location at the Union’s eastern border, Poland is increasingly experiencing immigration and its challenges. What is your opinion on the matter?

It is clear that the challenges related to immigration issues concern the EU as a whole and that we must address them together. The situation in the Mediterranean region, the daily drama of illegal immigration had become untenable in 2009. But what happens in the Mediterranean region is a concern for all Schengen Area member states and clearly calls for urgent and collective measures. It is essential that the Frontex Agency plays an active and effective role.

Measures adopted to strengthen the protection of external borders and counter illegal immigration are a working agenda for all European ministers to establish a real European border police. So we are moving forward, but we still have much to do. The key in this area as in others, is to demonstrate political will, and convert our political decisions into action.

In November, France will take over the year-long rotating chair of the G20. What does the French government plan to concentrate on?

A financial crisis of a scale unseen in decades has shaken the OECD countries. We very nearly escaped the total collapse of the banking system. French ambition in the G20, which represents 85 percent of global GDP, is to create a “new Bretton Woods,” a new international monetary organization. This notably includes coordinating global regulation of financial markets, hedge funds and CDSs and the establishment of a new policy on exchange rates between the euro, the dollar and the yuan.

Whether it is the tax on banks, innovative financing such as a tax on financial transactions, reform of the international financial system or global governance, things are progressing, as indicated by the results of the recent G20 summit in Toronto.