'Poland is ready to support Armenia’s ambitious goal of joining EU' — Marcin Bosacki
Polish official on Armenia’s EU integration
“Being an influential member of the European Union, Poland can support Armenia in pursuing its ambitious goals, whatever they may be,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki said in an interview with the Armenpress news agency.
He noted that if Yerevan’s goal is to expand trade with the European Union and conclude a free trade agreement, Warsaw can support the process. The deputy minister also stressed that Poland can support the ambitious goal of joining the EU.
“It will not happen overnight, but it is entirely possible,” he said.
Marcin Bosacki discussed Poland’s experience of European integration, military-technical cooperation with Armenia, and efforts to establish peace in the South Caucasus.
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EU membership would open new doors for Armenia
“European Union is a huge market for you. 460 million people, rich people, relatively speaking in terms of the world. And Armenia has some advantages from IT business and gaming even to agriculture, which fit quite nicely into European market. So, this is the big opportunity, and probably you need to diversify your economic ties and directions of export. So, European Union countries like Poland is a natural choice, but yes, there are two challenges, obstacles.
One is institutional, you know, European Union in its core is a free trade zone, which means we really trade freely, without any barriers between ourselves between twenty-seven members of the European Union, but we do have barriers for others.
So, to remove, or at least ease those areas is very important for Armenia, and we are in talks of that. Some of that already happened, like Poland imported one thousand tons of Armenian fruits this year, and temporarily this market was open for you in the scope of European Union. But we need to have trade deals, maybe pre-accession deals.
When you become a candidate for EU, if you become, then it will be much easier to open those doors for you, with the benefit of your producers, not only agricultural producers, but also industrial producers.”
“It is worth becoming a member of this club”: Poland’s experience of European integration
“Poland joined EU twenty-two years ago. So, twenty-three years ago, twenty-five years ago, twenty-seven years ago, we were a candidate country, and we know how to prepare for cooperation and possibly membership with European Union, and then how to negotiate with European Union. And I’m so proud that today with Deputy Minister Vahan Kostanyan, we opened the training of your diplomatic corps by Polish diplomats and experts who were active in those talks and negotiations with European Union when Poland wanted to join, 23, 25 years ag
There is one lesson. It is worth to be in this club. Thirty-five years ago, just after Poland, as one of the first actually as the very first country got rid of communism in 1989, Polish economic situation and Polish economic development was on par with Ukraine’s.
Now we are at least three times richer than Ukraine in terms of GDP per capita, purchasing power and we grew into the sixth biggest economy in the EU, twentieth economy in the world. And we are almost fifty percent richer than we would have been, if we were not members of EU. Polish economic success is magnificent. We didn’t have a year of recession since 1991.
The only year of recession was the year of COVID, 2020, but that was global. And Poles really are five to six times richer than they were a generation ago. It is not always easy. The first years are not easy of economic reforms and the preparations for joining EU, but the benefits for a hardworking, energetic, full of entrepreneurs country like Poland is, those benefits are enormous, and I firmly believe that Armenia will follow Polish path, because you are also a very energetic, very ambitious. And full of entrepreneurs, nation and country.”
Armenia–Poland military-technical cooperation
“In many areas. Yes, in many dimensions of this, yes, really recently opened an area, because just last May, our respective Ministers of Defense signed this agreement on cooperation in this sphere between Poland and Armenia. You know, Polish defense industry is an expert in transitioning of Soviet or post-Soviet armory into NATO standards, into Western standards.
So, we can help you with that if you wish so. Another one is that those two wars, Russian war in Ukraine, and between U.S. And Iran, really emptied the magazines for ammunition, from very simple one to the very developed anti-air and anti-ballistic missiles. We can help produce more of it in cooperation between Armenian and Polish industries, and those talks are already between our two countries.”
Supporting peace and stability in the South Caucasus
“Poland has been and is supporting peace and stabilization of South Caucasus region. We do support TRIPP project, we do support the reconciliation agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and we strongly encourage our Turkish friends to normalize relations with your great country of Armenia, because we really believe that the world, based on peace and democratic values, and the protection of sovereignty of each particular country, is the world in which economy is booming, people are safer and more happy, and the world is more stable.
And therefore, we do wish Armenia all the best on your decisions to diversify, both economically and politically, your future. And we not only wish, but we will help how much you want us to help.”
Polish official on Armenia’s EU integration
