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By Barbara Derêgowska
Polish President Aleksander Kwa¶niewski, his French counterpart Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder held the fourth Polish-French-German summit as part of the Weimar Triangle in Wroc³aw May 9.
"Each country pursues a sovereign policy and has the right to its own decisions," Kwa¶niewski said during the summit. "Whatever differences of opinion exist are dominated by a will of cooperation, dialogue and agreement. Here in Wroc³aw we have made sure that we follow the same path and have the same horizon."
Greeting Chirac and Schröder, Kwa¶niewski pointed out that the meeting was being held on Europe Day and that EU affairs would dominate their talks. A joint statement presented after the trilateral talks at the City Hall showed confidence in the choice that the Polish people will make June 7-8 in the EU referendum. Chirac and Schröder praised Poland for its determination on the road to the EU and stressed how anxiously Poland's reunion with the European family was awaited after so many difficult moments in history. Chirac noted that Germany and France had been the first to support Polish accession to the EU.
The three leaders confirmed the importance of the Weimar Triangle for increasingly closer cooperation among Warsaw, Berlin and Paris.
France and Germany invited Poland as an equal partner to help develop joint European policies, especially the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), economic and social cohesion policy and transport policy.
Regarding joint foreign and defense policies, the leaders agreed on the need for regular trilateral consultations. "The issues of security, defense and diplomacy are crucial for the future of the world," said Chirac. "And they are not simple, as the situation in Iraq has shown."
The position of EU member countries is clear. Europe must have the necessary means of defense, while respecting NATO. Schröder explained that this involved the European pillar [of NATO] and the responsibility of Europeans within NATO-rather than any new concepts.
One of the questions posed during a meeting of the leaders with students at Wroc³aw University led them to comment on their different approaches to the war in Iraq. Chirac said that moral issues were the most important in the position of his country. One cannot support a preventive war. Military force should be a last resort, determined by international law and overseen by bodies such as the United Nations.
Referring to his recent critical statement about the "Letter of Eight," Chirac said the Poles should not feel offended by his words as he had not intended to humiliate anyone. "When you form a family, before you make any external decisions, you should first come to terms with each other," he explained.
Schröder supported this philosophy. He said that Germany was historically burdened with war experiences and hence preferred peace above all. He added that Poland had also "suffered tremendously," but apparently each country has a different sense of security.
Kwa¶niewski said that preventive strikes such as those in Iraq were primarily designed to protect the world from threats in the form of terrorism.
The leaders were pleasantly surprised to see crowds of Wroc³aw residents greet them as they walked from the university to the City Hall. Bodyguards had much to do as dozens of people reached out to shake hands with the leaders or ask for autographs. Instead of the planned few minutes, the stroll lasted more than half an hour. "In all, the stay of the guests was about three hours longer than expected, which probably best proves that the meeting was successful," concluded Wroc³aw Mayor Rafa³ Dutkiewicz.
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