In the second part of an exclusive interview for Polish Radio’s English Service, former president Aleksander Kwaśniewski says that if the unrest in North Africa continues, priorities during Poland's presidency of the EU this year will have to keep pace with the Arab Spring.
“If the situation in North Africa and the Middle East continues to be very dramatic, the priorities of Polish presidency [starting 1 July] will be changed," Aleksander Kwasniewski told our reporter Michal Kubicki.
I am sure that Poland, because of its strong economy, active role in the EU, the strengthening of our position in the region and the improvement of our relations with Russia, is today one of the most important players in the EU.”
“If you look at the history of the EU, you can seen that Europe had and overcame a lot of crises and some skeptics say that the entire history of the EU is the history of crises. What is fantastic is that after each crisis Europe is stronger,” he adds.
This is Part II of the interview Aleksander Kwasniewski gave to Polish Radio’s English Section. In Part I (click here), Kwaśniewski, who served as president of Poland from 1995 to 2005, commented on the deep divisions in Polish society and political elites, a year after the air crash in which President Lech Kaczynski and ninety five other people, mostly high-ranking officials, were killed. (pg)