European Union

The inevitable split of the Visegrad Group does not discredit Central Europe. A rejection of the often disingenuous and pro-Russian ‘conservatism’ of Orban’s party is, in fact, a necessary precondition for the rest of the region to assert itself as a serious, constructive player.

There are two futures of Europe. Since the Treaty of Rome, the Treaties have included the ambition to forge „an ever-closer union” among the people (not peoples) of Europe. And then there is George H. W. Bush’s vision of Europe, „whole and free”.

Over the last two weeks two million people have left their homes in Ukraine and crossed the border into Poland. Each week a million refugees, mainly the elderly and women with children, have poured into my country. The poor of this world are fleeing from soldiers who shoot at women and children, at hospitals, at schools and housing estates and who bomb Russians’ blocks of flats.

The current state of relations between Brussels and governments in Central Europe is unsustainable.

Close cooperation between Poland, Germany and France could strengthen the EU.

Any actions that erode trust and solidarity, both within the NATO alliance and the EU community, play into the hands of their enemies who want to overturn the existing order and restore the situation that we experienced in the last century, notably in Europe.

If Europe does not pull itself together and rethink how it can take advantage of its talents to keep its role in the world, whilst keeping our common values — freedom of research, cooperation and peace — it will face a major decline in its role at the international level.

In an EU where passportless travel has been disrupted by the need to test, isolate, quarantine cases, a widely recognized proof of vaccination will offer a route to normal, pre-pandemic life to those who will get the vaccine.

One can ask whether European integration in the field of research has been a success? Despite the long and complicated process it has represented, I believe so.