'Eastern Partnership' - opening a new chapter of Polish Eastern policy and the European Neighbourhood Policy?

Presented jointly by the Polish and Swedish governments, the proposal for ‘Eastern Partnership’ is the first major Polish initiative at the EU forum since accession that has every chance to become a success due to the extensive consultations that preceded its launch as well as its realistic objectives.

‘Eastern Partnership’ constitutes an attempt to place the traditional objectives of Poland’s Eastern policy within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy. As such, it is a significant policy reversal as regards the ENP, which was previously criticised in Poland for its alleged ineffectiveness and privileging of the Southern dimension. This reversal is part of a more general attempt by Donald Tusk’s government to ‘Europeanise’ Polish foreign policy through coalition building with both old and new EU members.

Although ‘Eastern Partnership’ has been rather well received within the EU, a number of policy challenges remain in the way of its implementation. These challenges include the need to secure the support of the target countries for the initiative and to achieve concrete results in Ukraine’s progress towards greater integration with the EU. Furthermore, positive results must be secured during the French and Czech presidencies of the EU, and the foreign policy opportunities provided by the upcoming Polish presidency in 2011 must be utilized. Finally, given the unyielding criticism of Tusk and Sikorski’s foreign policy by President Lech Kaczynski and the main opposition party, Law and Justice, constant efforts must be made to maintain domestic support for these policies.