Polish Speaker Backs Ukraine’s EU Bid With Conditions

Wlodzimierz Czarzasty, speaker of the Polish Sejm, supports Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. However, he believes that membership should require Ukraine to confront problematic chapters of its history.

Czarzasty made the comments in Szczawnica during a meeting with Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament. The two also discussed the deterioration of Polish-Ukrainian relations and historical disputes.

Czarzasty said Ukraine’s accession to the EU would require Ukrainians to “reflect on all aspects of their history”.

“The EU is, after all, about democracy. The EU is, after all, about values. It is not just an ATM”, he said.

According to Czarzasty, this also means “calling genocide genocide”.

“This is history, and no nation can escape its history”, he added.

Czarzasty was referring to long-standing Polish-Ukrainian disputes over historical events, including the Volhynia massacre.

At the same time, Czarzasty called for the restoration of mutual trust. He condemned inappropriate behavior by Poles toward Ukrainians as well as by Ukrainians toward Poles.

He also highlighted the importance of Ukrainians to the Polish economy. According to Czarzasty, Ukrainians account for 5% of Poland’s workforce and contribute 2.7% of the country’s GDP.

(est)