On Saturday 10th May 2008, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Radosław Sikorski, met with the President of the European Parliament, Mr Hans-Gert Pöttering, during his visit to Warsaw on the occasion of the Schuman Parade, which concluded the celebration of the ‘15th Polish European Meetings’.

        During the meeting, internal EU affairs were discussed, as were relations between the EU and third countries. The discussion also covered the issues of the Lisbon Treaty’s ratification and implementation, the expansion of the EU, the common energy security policy, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the eastern aspect of the European Neighbourhood Policy. Both politicians stressed the need to commemorate the struggle against totalitarianism, which should contribute to the elimination of differences in historical awareness among the citizens of the EU states.

        The situations in Belarus, Ukraine and Tibet were discussed in terms of the EU’s external relations. With reference to Belarus, the President of the European Parliament emphasised the importance he places on addressing the issue of respecting human rights in Belarus in his speeches, and made mention of the fact that Aleksander Milinkiewicz has visited the European Parliament.  It was agreed that it would be desirable to establish lower visa fees to ease matters for students from countries along the European Union’s eastern border who wish to attend universities located in the EU states.

Piotr Paszkowski
MFA Press Spokesman