WE THE CITIZENS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

WBJ: What led you to establish the “We the Citizens of the European Union - Wojciech B. Jastrzębowski” organization, which is a unique Polish initiative, and why did you name it after Jastrzębowski?

Olgierd Łukaszewicz: History teaches us that peace in Europe, freedom, and independence are not given once and for all. The aggression of tyrants who hate democracy and civil rights always leads to great human tragedies. Today we can see for ourselves how this painful truth is confirmed for Ukraine. The dream of freedom and a united Europe is inscribed in Polish history, and the EU has ensured the longest period of peace for us. This is what Wojciech Bogumił Jastrzębowski — a great Polish patriot, insurgent of the November Uprising (1830) against tsarist Russia, and prominent botanist, inventor, meteorologist, forester, and climatologist — dreamed of in the 19th century. He was also a visionary, who published his draft "Constitution for Europe" on May 3, 1831, some 150 years before the establishment of the European Communities (1957) and the EU (1992). When we created the organization on December 8, 2017, we did not have any doubts that the author of one of the greatest projects of European unity in history would be the best patron of our foundation.

Why did you think that pro-European activity, focused on education and deepening European integration, is so important in a country whose citizens, after all, do support Poland’s membership in the EU?

When those who rule Poland started to spread lies about the EU and slander the Union and when their views started to be heard — e.g. in a conversation with a cab driver, in a store or cafe, I understood that it was necessary to act. The power of Jacek Kurski's state television did its job [Jacek Kurski, allegedly a spin doctor, heads TVP, a government mouthpiece]. When you join a public debate of your own free will, on your own terms, devoting your own time, your own money and you do it because "it makes your blood boil," you don't calculate like a businessman.

I became active to calm my conscience, my civic conscience, which has been urging me to join in the search for solutions to a huge problem. We were admitted to the EU on credit. No one analyzed the degree of our European consciousness. A group of prominent intellectuals and specialists paved the way for us to join the EU. And the West appreciated the Solidarity movement and our desire to find ourselves among the Western democracies. But in my opinion, what the Poles wanted was to get rich. You can still hear it in [Poland’s de facto leader] Jarosław Kaczynski's speeches, who is saying that only when Poles attain the Western standard of living will it be possible to think about entering the Eurozone. Kaczyński has no idea what life in the West looks like. He has never been there, just like most Poles from small towns and villages.

After a dozen or so years of EU membership, the more enlightened politicians started to say out loud that a systemic hate speech directed at the EU is possible in Poland because in fact "there never has been any European education." But so far not much has resulted from this statement. Do we have today even one institution, equipped with a budget and tools, capable of spreading European education regularly and systematically throughout the country? I invariably observe helpless people looking up to Brussels in the hope that maybe the EU can do something about this. Nobody wants to admit his failures in this regard and do something concrete. On the other hand, there is one dramatic and concrete thing that has already been done. I am speaking here about the dissolving of the Office for European Integration, which back in 2004 encouraged Poles to take part in the referendum on accession and to vote “YES.”

But when we joined the EU, the only institution that had the means and the imperative to persuade Poles to integrate with the Union was abolished. The West saw us as a society ripe for integration with Western societies. But this was an illusion. So, even though I was over 71 [at the time of establishing the foundation], I decided that something had to be done. Something that would depend on me alone. When I met Prof Roman Kuźniar, who served as an advisor to former Polish President Bronisław Komorowski, I asked him to join the Union of Polish Stage Artists in a series of events that were meant to remind us that in 1831, during the Polish-Russian war, a Pole, Jastrzębowski, published his "The Treaty on the Eternal Covenant between Civilized Nations. Constitution for Europe." So I decided to create an organization that would deal with the education of potential voters. Because voters should be able to distinguish between pro-European parties and those that pretend to be pro-European, but which are decidedly anti-European.

Today we again hear Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki shouting that the EU is not helping Poland, which has already accepted 3 million refugees from Ukraine. Morawiecki is trying to create an idea in the minds of Polish voters that there is some EU coffer from which money can be freely drawn, for example, by the president of the European Commission. Our politicians are breaking the Polish Constitution and the Polish law in an attempt to influence their voters and make them distrustful of the EU, because the EU does not want to act in the way that the governing Law and Justice party (PiS) would like it to, namely by breaking the law.

When I set up the foundation, one of the key aims of which is civic education, I wanted, among other things, to ensure that our fellow citizens did not listen impassively to what they were being told by anti-European PiS politicians, but to have their own opinion. The problem is that our citizens do not understand that besides having Polish citizenship they also have EU citizenship. That is why during live dialogues with citizens, to which I invite eminent university experts, Team Europe experts and MEPs, we explain the most basic matters. But another common problem is that our society is still poorly educated. Many Poles do not understand the provisions of their Constitution, e.g. article 91, paragraph 3, which clearly states that ratified international agreements take precedence over national laws. PiS politicians are trying to wrongly persuade their voters and the Constitutional Tribunal [Poland’s top court reportedly controlled by PiS] is doing the same. 

And in such situations, the Constitution itself is being violated. It is not only false but also absurd to claim that the Constitution is above European law. The Constitution gives the possibility to incorporate European law into our legal order.

How, then, should one conduct European education?

We are present in schools, convincing teachers that the current core curriculum obliges them to practice with their pupils the arguments connected with the shaping of patriotic and civic attitudes. The fact of having national and European citizenship is still not anchored in the consciousness of many teachers.

We also try to be active online through our website and social media. We have over 7,000 Facebook followers. Young volunteers and students of European Studies have also joined us, so we are somehow moving forward. Books are the basis for our intellectual deliberations. The first book, entitled “Jestem obywatelem Unii Europejskiej” (in English: I am a citizen of the European Union) contains eight articles written by different authors. The second book answers the question: “What did Poland commit itself to when joining the EU?”. Its main author is the former negotiator of Poland's accession to the EU, Ambassador Jan Truszczyński. The third book, entitled "Azymut wspólna Europa Jastrzębowski" (in English: Direction Common Europe Jastrzębowski) tells the story of the historical hero of our organization, who should be widely known in Poland as the pioneer of the idea of a united Europe. He should also be appropriately honored as the man who risked his life fighting the Russian invaders in the 1830 November Uprising. He was a scientist known not only in Poland. But most of our fellow countrymen do not know him. So there is much to talk about. At the beginning of our activity, we dreamt of establishing EU clubs in various places in Poland. Unfortunately, not having the financial means to hire even one employee in the foundation's office and not being able to afford to interrupt our professional work, we have not been able to activate these clubs. But maybe one day we will find someone willing to reactivate this project with us?

Is your organization involved in the fight for the rights and independence of the Polish judiciary and the fight against the anti EU group associated with Zbigniew Ziobro, Polish justice minister and prosecutor general?

We participate in many demonstrations organized not only by the civic organizations KOD, Citizens of Poland and the so-called Uliczna Opozycja (in English: Street Opposition) but also in the activities of other associations and foundations acting in a community spirit and joining the pro-EU initiative European Front, whose leading members are the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation and the Bronisław Geremek Centre Foundation. In answer to your question as to whether we are joining the fight for the rights and the independence of the judiciary, I say: yes, of course, we are! To the question of whether we fight against the Ziobro group I also answer in the affirmative because this is what Prof Kuźniar, who chairs our foundation's council, does via our organized citizens’ dialogues and media statements on behalf of our organization. We operate outside government structures but in agreement with local authorities. We concluded such an agreement with the local self-government of the Masovian province. Under the patronage of the marshal of the province, we managed to realize several projects, including "The great reading by self-government bodies of the Polish Constitution for Europe project of 1831." This initiative involved former presidents of Poland Bronisław Komorowski and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, as well as 50 local government officials from various levels across the country. This project was initiated during the pandemic period, as did 32 other smaller and larger projects. Part of this local government reading was used by Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who on May 3, 2021, promoted Jastrzębowski's “Constitution for Europe” in his mayoral campaign. Our work aims to draw the attention of the public to the fact that no institution in Poland is obliged to spread awareness of European citizenship. We believe that at each level of local government there should be a unit dealing not only with the distribution of EU funds but with information about the EU, education about EU matters and agitating for integration within the Union.

How do you and your foundation see the future of Ukraine, the EU and NATO after the end of the war in Ukraine? How will the world change? Will the current lawless actions of Russia continue to be a reality for future generations or will new wars await the world?

It is difficult for us to predict the future of Ukraine. We wish it a victory, of course. As early as the second day of the war, the chairman of the board of our foundation Witold Moszyński, organized a collection, which made it possible to transport over 5,000 diapers and other necessary products to hospitals in Lviv and Kharkiv. The bloody world of the 19th century resurfaced again before our very eyes. It might seem that given the present situation the Eurosceptics have lost. But unfortunately, this is not the case. Politicians associated with Zbigniew Ziobro and many supporters of the current government continue to sow anti-European criticism and doubt, lies and accusations. There is much to be done because wars are born in the minds of many people. We wanted to see Russian citizens united with the citizens of other countries in the defense of world peace. But the 19th-century tsarist-and-later-communist imperialism is still going strong. Let the Kremlin's warnings against Poland be a sobering call for all those who miscalculate by supporting anti-EU parties. Has PiS converted itself? I do not see this. PiS has shown empathy for the suffering of the people in Ukraine, but it is still relentless in its confrontational policy with the EU, which is why Poland still hasn’t received any money from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility. It is time to wake up and believe that politics can be a clean game and that the commitment to build a better world should be rooted in the hearts of citizens, who are citizens of Poland and at the same time citizens of the world. We believe that European education which helps to ensure uniform development of the EU is the best guarantee of peace, freedom, prosperity and happiness of its citizens, as well as of building a civil society based on pluralism, tolerance, justice, solidarity, non-discrimination and equality.