15:58, 1 September 2009
- Could you give me three reasons why Poland should join the European Union? – The journalist from the Euro-sceptic Polish newspaper asked the pro-European Parliamentarian. To the satisfaction of the journalist, the politician did not know how to answer this question.
What the journalist was not able to grasp, was WHY the Parliamentarian did not provide the list of reasons for the Poland’s accession. Or at least why he was not able to do it instantly. The reason is obvious to me. It was because joining the European Union was something far beyond the rational arguments based on economic or political calculations. It was the matter of feeling that this is the core priority for Poland, for the sake of present and future generations.
I am writing this brief post in my personal capacity as a young Pole, who lived most of his live in Poland, who continued his study in the Netherlands and now pursues his career in the UK. I am writing this brief post on September 1, marking the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War.
Back in Maastricht I’ve met two friends, one from Bulgaria and one from Romania. I remember talking to them in January 2007 when they asked me the following question with huge enthusiasm and a big smile on their faces: Kamil, tell us, who are we now? I didn’t know what they meant. They kept asking until they told me: – we are the citizens of the European Union!
They felt it too, just like the Polish Parliamentarian. For them, in January 2007, the accession of Bulgaria and Romania was more about historical symbolism than about anything else.
It is often forgotten in the every-day politics, why the European integration began in the first place. What the CORE reason for the process was in the early 1950s and even before.
Today, on the 70th anniversary of the Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland and the beginning of the war, it is worth asking the question whether we don’t take the European integration for granted all too often.
I know that most of the people in Central and Eastern Europe don’t because they felt the consequences of the war long after their Western European neighbours had started enjoying the successful recovery.
I wish that today marks not only the anniversary of one of the most tragic days of European history, but also gives an opportunity to appreciate what an outstanding results can be achieved when people work together and not against each other.
Kamil Zwolski
