Making the rounds
The first week of December marked Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's first diplomatic trips abroad. He travelled first to Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, then to Brussels and finally to the Vatican.
"These were not visits which could offer any meaningful results. They seemed to be only symbolic," admitted Aleksander Smolar, president of the Stefan Batory Foundation and a former foreign policy advisor to PMs Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Hanna Suchocka. "Usually, however, a PM's first foreign visits aren't based on concrete issues, because their foreign policy is only starting to develop," he added.
"That Tusk's first foreign visit was to Vilnius was the largest surprise," said Smolar. On November 30, Tusk visited Vilnius and met Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas and the Speaker of the Seimas (parliament), Viktoras Muntianas. "Most surprising is that [Lithuania] was the favourite destination of the Kaczyński brothers. It was expected that Tusk would do everything completely differently. Now we unexpectedly see the continuation of the good-relations-with-Lithuania policy," Smolar told WBJ.
Lithuanian daily Lietuvos Rytas reported after the visit that nothing weighty was said. "It is still unsure when the energy bridge [between Poland and Lithuania] agreement will be reached," read Lietuvos Rytas. "It looks like Tusk is trying to avoid making decisions or commitments," said Smolar.
PM Tusk paid his most politically substantive visit to Brussels. Last Tuesday he met European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, as well as a number of other Brussels-based diplomatic heavyweights.
"In Brussels, Tusk presented the new face of Poland's foreign policy," said Smolar.
In the EU capital Tusk explained that Poland would not sign the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, upholding the position held by former PM Kaczyński and contradicting comments he himself made immediately after Poland's October elections. He pledged, however, to return to the Charter issue in Poland after more debate. "Without this [move], it would be hard to ratify the whole EU reform treaty in Poland," said Tusk in Brussels.
The final visit, to meet the Pope at the Vatican, took place last Friday. "This was the most symbolic visit. It has already become a tradition among Poland's top authorities to schedule one of the first visits to the Vatican. These meetings always have a family atmosphere," said Smolar.
