Wizyta Beaty Szydło w Norwegii – Norwegia wzmacnia współpracę z Polską
W ostatnich latach Norwegia i Polska stały się dobrymi i bliskimi sąsiadami północno-europejskimi. Rząd Norwegii zamierza zdecydowanie i systematycznie zacieśniać i pogłębiać współpracę z Polską w najbliższych latach, powiedziała Premier Erna Solberg podczas niedawnej wizyty Beaty Szydło w Norwegii.
Premier Solberg zaprosiła swą polską odpowiedniczkę na rozmowy polityczne w Oslo we wtorek 2. lutego br. Norwegia była pierwszym krajem nordyckim, do którego udała się z wizytą polska premier po zmianie rządu polskiego jesienią ubiegłego roku.
Dwustronna współpraca była kluczowym elementem rozmów. Istotnym elementem tej współpracy jest wymiana handlowa. Polska jest obecnie największym rynkiem eksportowym na świecie dla norweskich owoców morza i najważniejszym rynkiem w Europie dla norweskiego przemysłu obronnego. Dzięki funduszom EOG kwitnie również współpraca w takich dziedzinach, jak badania naukowe, energia, środowisko, kultura oraz wymiar sprawiedliwości.
– Jednocześnie w ostatnich latach wzmocnił się wpływ Polski w UE i NATO. To sprawia, że Polska jest coraz ważniejszym partnerem dla Norwegii. Norweski rząd przyjął zatem strategię dalszego rozwoju stosunków dwustronnych i promocji norweskich interesów w Polsce, w krajach sąsiadujących i w samej Unii Europejskiej, stwierdziła norweska Premier.
Strategia ta przewiduje wzmocnienie norwesko-polskiej współpracy w 15 określonych obszarach. Szczególnie fundusze EOG powinny być aktywnie wykorzystywane do promowania większego kontaktu i współpracy.
Premier Szydło i Premier Solberg omówiły również szereg wyzwań stojących obecnie przed Europą, w tym kwestie obrony i polityki bezpieczeństwa.
The Norwegian Government’s strategy for cooperation with Poland
Foreword
Over the past few decades, relations between Norway and Poland have been revitalised.
We cooperate and trade with each other and increasing numbers of us work or study in each other’s country.
Who would have thought 20 years ago that today Norway and Poland would be close allies and partners in NATO? Or that both countries would be part of the common internal market? Or that we would share a common external border through the Schengen cooperation?
The Government’s clear ambition is to cooperate more systematically with countries of particular importance to Norway in our neighbouring areas, and to foster closer ties between Norway and these countries.
That is why the Government has drawn up a specific strategy for Norway’s cooperation with Poland, which provides a basis for expanding ties between our two countries in a number of areas.
This strategy, which also contains an action plan, is a living document. This means that new topics and fields can be added as they become relevant.
I. Why a separate strategy for cooperation with Poland?
The Norwegian Government’s Strategy for Cooperation with the EU 2014–17 makes clear that Norway is to play an active role in European cooperation and in developing new solutions to the common challenges Europe is facing. The Government will pursue an active European policy and will cooperate more systematically with EU member states of particular importance for Norway. It is therefore important that Norway takes an integrated, strategic and coordinated approach to its bilateral cooperation with Poland.
Poland has become an increasingly important partner for Norway. Following its peaceful, negotiated transition to democracy, Poland’s political stability and high level of economic growth have in recent years been striking. Migration from Poland to Norway is high, and close to 100 000 Poles are registered as being resident in Norway. Norwegian students account for the third largest group of foreign students in Poland. High-level political visits between Norway and Poland are increasingly frequent. We share a common set of values based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Poland has a population of 38.2 million and is the sixth largest economy in Europe. Norway and Poland are engaged in wide-ranging business cooperation. Through Team Norway, an informal network of business sector actors, we have developed close cooperation with representatives of the business sector and other partners in Poland. Trade between our countries is on the rise. More than 300 Norwegian companies have established operations in Poland. The country is now the largest export market for Norwegian seafood and the most important market in Europe for Norwegian defence-related products. For Poland, Norway is both the largest market for equipment to the maritime industry and the largest supplier of equipment of this kind.
Poland is also an increasingly influential player in Europe, with clearly defined interests in areas of major importance to Norway. Poland has been a member of NATO for 16 years and during this time, it has become an important country in the Alliance, with clear ambitions to further increase its influence. It is telling that when Jens Stoltenberg and Federica Mogherini took up their top leadership positions in NATO and the EU respectively, they both chose Poland as the destination for their first foreign visit.
Due to its political and economic weight, Poland has acquired a leading role in Europe. Poland coordinates its positions closely with the other Visegrad countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Together, these states have as many votes in the Council of the European Union as Germany and France combined.
Poland has pushed for the EU to play a more active role in efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, which began in 2014, and has emphasised the need for the EU and its partners to stand united against Russia and its actions in Ukraine. Poland initiated the establishment of the EU’s Eastern Partnership with the former Soviet republics Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The importance Poland gives to the Eastern Partnership and its close ties to Ukraine make it an important dialogue partner for Norway in our own work to promote stability and development in these countries.
Norway takes part in European cooperation through the EEA Agreement, the Schengen agreement and its other agreements with the EU. The EEA Agreement is the foundation of Norway’s cooperation with Europe and ensures the free movement of people, goods, services and capital as well as equal conditions of competition. Poland is the largest recipient of funding under the EEA and Norway Grants. The contacts and cooperation that have been established through the Grants scheme provide a unique starting point for further developing our bilateral relations and promoting Norwegian interests in Poland, in our neighbouring area and vis-à-vis the EU.
Strategic goals for Norway’s cooperation with Poland:
-To expand political cooperation with Poland on foreign and security policy, and in particular on matters relating to European cooperation and NATO.
-To increase awareness and understanding in Poland of Norwegian interests and positions on important international issues, including EU/EEA matters, and to promote closer cooperation between Norway and Poland in international forums and institutions.
-To ensure strategic use of the EEA and Norway Grants as a basis for closer cooperation with Poland in areas where Norway has interests to safeguard.
-To strengthen Norwegian-Polish cooperation in the fields of energy, climate change and the environment.
-To facilitate increased trade and investment between Norway and Poland by supporting the efforts of Norwegian companies to invest in the Polish market, with particular emphasis on the areas of energy, defence-related products and seafood, and to work to secure better market access for Norwegian seafood.
-To increase awareness and knowledge of Norway and Norwegian policy in Poland. To reinforce and strengthen Norway’s positive image in Poland.
II. How can we achieve these goals?
The action plan contained in this strategy has been drawn up with a view to achieving the strategic goals set out above. The plan focuses on 15 priority areas, and follows a fixed structure throughout. Under each of the priority areas, the plan states the primary objective, then gives background information, before discussing the role of the EEA and Norway Grants in the area concerned (where relevant). As a living document, the plan will be updated as new topics and areas become relevant. It shows the unique nature of the EEA and Norway Grants as a bilateral tool, as well as the breadth of cooperation between Poland and Norway. The ministry responsible for following up each priority area is specified. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian embassy in Warsaw have an overall responsibility to coordinate and follow up the action plan, in consultation with the appropriate ministries.
Źródło: Ambasada Norwegii w Warszawie (amb-norwegia.pl)
Fot: freeimages.pl