One would be hard put to find a government in Europe that has taken a more pro-EU stance than Poland’s. Throughout the country’s six-month 2011 presidency of the EU, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski repeatedly voiced their commitment to the 27-nation bloc, saying the solution to the continent’s sovereign-debt crisis was “more Europe, not less.”
The foreign minister even advocated the creation of a European federation under the leadership of Germany in a speech in Berlin last year.
As a result, Mr Tusk and Mr Sikorski were lambasted and ridiculed by right-wing politicians and media in Poland for being ready to give up the country’s sovereignty in return for nothing but a pat on the back by their “German masters.”
Told you so
Indeed, the Polish prime minister received lavish praise from European politicians for his stance, with the current European Parliament president Martin Schultz (a German) saying the Polish presidency was “one of the very best presidencies we have had.”
The Polish right, which tends to view praise for Polish politicians by their German or French counterparts as a sure sign that they are not protecting Warsaw’s interests, said Mr Tusk would get nothing for playing the nice guy.
When the PM said Poland would definitely join the proposed fiscal pact and contribute to the IMF fund meant to assist troubled euro-zone countries, the same critics said he was silly to sign up for a deal whose content was not yet known.
But since decisions made at euro-zone summits would affect non-euro EU members, Mr Tusk insisted he would fight to be allowed to participate (not necessarily vote) at the meetings as decisions made there would affect Poland as well.
His critics sneered in doubt, and the euro zone’s decision-makers are now proving them right. When it was recently revealed by the media that the latest draft of the fiscal union treaty did not envisage non-euro countries like Poland being allowed to attend euro summits, Mr Tusk sounded a very defeatist tone saying “you can’t win them all.”
“Ha....we told you so,” the naysayers gloated.
Many ordinary pro-EU Poles simply wondered why Paris and Berlin seemed to want to marginalize such a staunch ally.
It's not over yet
Since then it seems Mr Tusk has regained his fighting spirit, saying after a meeting with the Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti that cooperation between Rome and Warsaw would “serve well to complement the political initiatives by Paris and Berlin at a time when the new rules in the European Union are being worked on.”
Even more of an outright challenge to France and Germany were his words to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that “Europe should not be left to two capitals” and he did not want “exclusive clubs” in the EU.
The latest draft of the treaty now says that non-euro nations can attend the summits once a year. That would probably amount to Poland being invited to the summits where no important decisions are made. Although Mr Sikorski has said the negotiations are still ongoing and that “the latest drafts are going in the direction of Poland’s postulates,” the final treaty might still turn out to be an embarrassment for the Polish government.
Mr Tusk’s critics now feel vindicated. They argue that if he had been tougher from the beginning, Poland would have gotten all it wanted. That, of course, is nonsense. When the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) was in power from 2005-2007, they practiced the kind of politics PO’s critics are advocating, banging their fists on the table any time they didn’t get their way. What did that get Poland? Precious little.
Once bitten …
But it is not surprising that this view is gaining traction, considering the way German Chancellor Angel Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have treated Donald Tusk.
Mr Tusk’s actions seemed perfectly reasonable. He showed his intention to join the fiscal union and chip in for the IMF fund, in order to be able to “participate” at euro summits.
But the powers that be – especially France, if reports are correct – seem to think that is asking too much. They have humiliated Mr Tusk, making him seem naïve and gullible. This debacle will now make the prime minister more wary of Berlin and Paris. No strong relationship can be built on mistrust.
What’s the big deal about attending euro summits anyway? Are there secret, major decisions going to be made there that Paris doesn’t want Warsaw to know about? If not, then doing everything to shut Poland and other non-euro members out of participating in euro summits doesn’t make much sense.
