National assemblies are rarely held in Poland, and when they are, the anniversaries are at least round. Now the reason for the meeting of the two chambers of parliament, the Sejm and Senate, is the rather incomplete 23rd anniversary of the country’s NATO accession on March 12, 1999. But these are times of war, and that is reflected in the guests at this event. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined the meeting late Friday afternoon.
Polish President Andrzej Duda spoke first, however, and began what he called an “appeal to the entire free world”: What is happening in Ukraine shows that “Russia is still an evil empire”. Referring to the many Ukrainian refugees in Poland, he said: “I salute the millions of our compatriots who respond with good to evil every day.” But Poland is safe thanks to NATO, which offers “unshakeable security to its members.”
Poland seemed to no longer feel safe enough this week. On Tuesday evening, the Polish government surprised its NATO partner, the USA, by proposing that all Polish Mig-29-Supply fighter jets to Ukraine via a detour via the US military base in Ramstein. The USA refused – for fear of an escalation of the war.
Poland currently appears to be accepting every demand from Ukraine: is in favor of more arms deliveries, even tougher sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and also for Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU.
Thanks to the “Polish brothers and sisters”
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy thanked the members of the National Assembly in his speech, and he appeared on the screen in a camouflage-colored T-shirt, as he had done since the outbreak of war. On the morning of February 24, he said he had no doubts about who would shake hands with the Ukrainians: “Our Polish brothers and sisters.” Jens Stoltenberg made it short and declared himself in defense of all Allied territory: “One for all, all for one.”
Poland is getting a lot of international attention right now. Because it has already taken in around 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine. But also because of his far-reaching demands on partners in the EU and in NATO.
A family from Odessa found temporary accommodation in a school gym in the Polish border town of Przemyśl.
(Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty)
In recent years, the right-wing populist PiS government has not only fallen out with its European neighbors, but also with the United States since Joe Biden took office. President Duda had hesitated for weeks before finally officially congratulating Biden on winning the election, and in the end he was even later than Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Trump administration was glorified by the Polish government as a protector against an aggressive Russia.
During a visit by US Vice President Kamala Harris to Warsaw on Thursday, Trump was no longer mentioned, instead President Duda thanked former President Barack Obama, during whose tenure it was decided to station American NATO troops permanently in Poland.
No backing down in the dispute over the rule of law
His country must be a responsible NATO member, Duda said after meeting Harris. Poland agreed with the proposal of Mig-29-Deliveries on the one hand want to support the fighting Ukraine, which has formulated “clear and strong expectations” of the neighbors. On the other hand, as a credible member of NATO, “in no way did you want to put the alliance in a difficult situation.” Poland also wants to further strengthen its own army and is pushing for faster processing of a purchase from the USA, which includes tanks and rocket launchers, among other things. Duda also appealed to the United States to take in Ukrainian refugees.
Harris did not want to comment specifically on this, instead thanking Poland for its great willingness to help in taking in and caring for the refugees. “The world is looking at Poland,” she said, the people showing “extraordinary generosity”. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also came to Warsaw on Thursday and met his Polish colleague Mateusz Morawiecki and President Duda. The Poles behaved “wonderfully” in the crisis, said Trudeau, and spoke out in favor of the strictest possible sanctions against Russia.
However, the Polish government does not seem to want to settle the rule of law dispute with the EU. This week the government-controlled Constitutional Court ruled that the European Convention on Human Rights was incompatible with Poland’s constitution. It is about the right to an independent judiciary, which the EU Commission and the ECJ no longer have. Polish commentators spoke, of all things, of a “Putinization” of the government.