Foreign relations of Poland

Poland became a full member of NATO in March 1999, and of the European Union in May 2004. Poland promoted its NATO candidacy through energetic participation in the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program and through intensified individual dialogue between Poland and NATO. Poland was invited in the first wave of NATO enlargement at the July 1997 NATO Summit in Madrid.

Poland also has forged ahead on its economic reintegration with the West. Poland became an associate member of the European Union (EU) and its defensive arm, the Western European Union (WEU) in 1994. In 1996 Poland achieved full OECD membership and submitted preliminary documentation for full EU membership. Poland joined the European Union in 2004, along with the other members of the Visegrád group.

Changes since 1989 have redrawn the map of central Europe, and Poland has had to forge relationships with seven new neighbours. Poland has actively pursued good relations with all its neighbours, signing friendship treaties replacing links severed by the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. The Poles have forged special relationships with Lithuania and particularly Ukraine in an effort to firmly anchor these states to the West.

Due to its tragic historical experience with a repeating pattern of disloyal allies and simultaneous aggression of powerful neighbours (Partitions of Poland, Second World War), Polish foreign policy pursues a close cooperation with a strong partner, apt to give a real military support in a critical situation. This creates the background of Poland's tight relations with the USA and over-sensitivity complicating relations towards its main partner within the European Union, Germany. At the same time, the equally burdened attitude towards Russia results in very tense diplomatic relations, constantly worsening since Vladimir Putin's rise to power. This is an important factor for the special attention Poland pays to the political emancipation of all its Eastern neighbours: Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine (as well as certain of those countries do to Poland itself). Relations with Russia have worsened as of the 2008 Georgian Crisis, in which a Russian led military invasion, invaded Georgia, a nearby, former USSR republic, like Poland. Poland stated its support for Georgia, as well as condeming Russia, and believes the invasion to represent Russia's aggresion and wish to reassert its dominance over its former republics. An even tighter security alliance with the US was announced in the middle of the Georgian crisis as an agreement between the two countries was reached to allow the US to install and operate an interceptor missile defense shield, a move which Russia sees explicitly targetting it and which it stated made Poland "a legitimate military target." [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Rice to visit Poland to sign missile shield deal |url= http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gLzVO9YmRVo2zJXJwfNJ0XQRZQWg |work= |publisher= AFP |date= August 18, 2008 |accessdate=2008-08-18 ] A high-ranking Russian military official said, "Poland in deploying [the US system] opens itself to a nuclear strike." [cite news |first= M K |last= Bhadrakumar |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= China seeks Caucasian crisis windfall |url= http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/JH19Ag01.html |work= Asia Times Online |publisher= |date= August 18, 2008 |accessdate=2008-08-18 ]

The authoritarian and anti-Western political course of Belarus presents a huge problem for the Polish foreign policy; the Orange Revolution in Ukraine evoked a wide and authentic support within the Polish society.

Poland is a part of the multinational force in Iraq.

Denmark and Poland have still not agreed on the location of the maritime border between the two countries. Denmark supports a border half-way between the two countries; Poland wants to be awarded an even greater share of the Baltic Sea, since Poland has a much longer coast-line than the Danish island of Bornholm. The issue has gained importance with Russia's plans to build the controversial Nord Stream natural gas pipeline through the disputed area.

See also

* Diplomatic missions of Poland
* List of diplomatic missions in Poland
* Polish involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq

Further reading

* cite journal
quotes =
last = Fedorowicz
first = Krzysztof
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 2007
month = July
title = National Identity and National Interest in Polish Eastern Policy, 1989-2004
journal = Nationalities Papers
volume = 35
issue = 3
pages = 537–553
issn =
pmid =
doi =
id =
url =
language =
format =
accessdate =
laysummary =
laysource =
laydate =
quote =

References

*