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Anti-corruption in Moldova and Ukraine: A V4 Handbook of Best Practices

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

Corruption is the most oft-cited obstacle in relations between the EU and two of its eastern partners, Moldova and Ukraine. Seeping through public and private exchanges alike, systemic corruption impedes sectoral reforms—a crucial element of modernisation. The handbook offers concrete case studies from the Visegrad countries’ anti-corruption policy tracks and proposes solutions on how Moldova and Ukraine can best capitalise on the EU’s expertise, financial assistance and political momentum in anti-corruption reforms to minimise risk and optimise success.

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Asserting the EU’s Mission in the Neighbourhood: Ten Recommendations for an Effective Eastern Partnership

Author(s): Kerry LONGHURST,Beata Wojna / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2011

The authors consider that the EU needs to assert its role and mission in the Eastern neighbourhood with more vigour. To do this the Eastern Partnership needs to focus on the job of building up the rule of law and democracy in Eastern Europe. Though much has been achieved over the past two years, in terms of creating up the institutional framework for EaP, the reality is that democracy is back sliding in the region, corruption is endemic and social and economic catch-up of EaP countries towards EU levels is uncertain. Without fuller democratisation and promotion of the rule of law in the neighbourhood the implementation of EaP will be stunted.The Eastern Partnership holds the potential to do more but only if the EU develops a ‘democratic acquis’ replete with a precise reform agenda. Building up administrations and rooting out the sources and practices that perpetuate corruption should be a priority, twinned with a better capacity to support civil society and non-registered opposition groups and political parties, as envisaged in the European Endowment for Democracy. Negotiations on trade need to be accompanied by meaningful benefits and concessions that partner states can enjoy in the short and medium term if economies are to grow. Finally, to meet the expectations of those countries that value their European identities and where public support for the EU exists the effectiveness of EaP can be bolstered by stressing Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union. Emphasising a ‘European Perspective’ will remind partner states and EU members of the right that all European countries have to join the EU if they share EU values and fulfil economic and political membership criteria.

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DAV4 II Report: From Battlegroup to Permanent Structures

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2013

Polish Institute of International Affairs presents a joint policy report: From Battlegroup to Permanent Structures, prepared in the framework of the research project Defence Austerity in the Visegrad Region II – DAV4 II, funded by the Interantional Visegrad Fund (IVF). The authors of the report argue, that the EU Battlegroup build together by the Visegrad countries and scheduled to enter standby in 2016, should be followed by permanent forms of defence and military cooperation between Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The policy report, which also aims to contribute to the debate about the future of the EU Battlegroups, was prepared by Central European Policy Institute (Slovakia), in cooperation with PISM (Poland), International Centre for Democratic Transition (Hungary) and Jagello 2000 (Czech Republic).

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DAV4 II Report: Region’s quest for inclusive cyber protection

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2013

Polish Institute of International Affairs presents a joint policy report: Region’s Quest for Inclusive Cyberprotection, prepared in the framework of the research project Defence Austerity in the Visegrad Region II – DAV4 II, funded by the Interantional Visegrad Fund (IVF). The authors of the report argue, that the Visegrad countries could become an avant-garde of cyberdefense policy, if only they decided to include cybersecurity in the agenda of their political consultations and practical collaboration. The policy report, which also aims to contribute to the debate about the the landscape of threats in cyberspace, was prepared by Central European Policy Institute (Slovakia), in cooperation with PISM (Poland), International Centre for Democratic Transition (Hungary) and Jagello 2000 (Czech Republic).

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Doing Business with Tigers: Trends, Features and Prospects for Poland’s Trade with Asia

Author(s): Artur Gradziuk,Patryk Toporowski / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2013

Should a new opening be expected in Poland’s relations with the Asian countries? The current trade statistics suggest that this cannot be ruled out.In 2011, the value of Polish exports to Asian markets rose by €1 billion against 2011, and Polish entrepreneurs now seem less fearful when starting a business there.For Asian countries in turn cooperation with Poland is becoming the key to the European market. These issues are examined by our researchers Artur Gradziuk and Patryk Toporowski in the latest PISM report "Doing Business with Tigers: Trends, Features and Prospects for Poland's Trade with Asia." The authors of the report stress that alongside China, the number one trading partner in Asia, other Asian markets, in particular India and Kazakhstan, are also important for the Polish exporters. Poland’s presence in Japan and South Korea is growing, and trade with Asia is beneficial in particular for the Polish chemical, cosmetic, food and machinery industries.A report is a part of the project „Trade with Asia - An Opportunity For Visegrad Countries?” (no 11220101) financed by the International Visegrad Fund. The other project partners are: EUROPEUM, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Slovak Academy of Sciences.

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Dyplomacja samorządowa. Efektywność i perspektywy rozwoju

Author(s): Adriana Skorupska / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 2015

Local government diplomacy is increasingly becoming a significant tool for local development and an instrument of foreign policy. This is among the conclusions of the PISM report “Dyplomacja samorządowa. Efektywność i perspektywy rozwoju” [Local Government Diplomacy: Effectiveness and Prospects], released in the “Year of Self-Government”, which commemorates the 25th anniversary of local government reform in the country. Polish democratic efforts on the local level and the ability to use European funds have become a form of export product. Local government professionalism generates pragmatism in foreign relations, corresponding to a decrease in the number of random contacts. Local governments in Poland withdraw from agreements that do not result in benefits. Such cooperation now must serve a particular purpose that may translate into concrete actions and, in many cases, is treated as a long-term investment. Modern local government can also support such important foreign policy goals as the planned reforms in Ukraine. How so? Find out in PISM’s latest publication.

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Dyplomacja samorządowa. Przykład Wielkopolski

Author(s): Adriana Skorupska / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 2015

Wielkopolska region remains one of the most active in international contacts, with over 63% of local government bodies cooperating with foreign partners and another 19% planning to launch international cooperation in the near future. German local governments hold a special place among foreign partners, as nearly three-fourths of Wielkopolska’s local authorities cooperate with their German counterparts. The decline in the number of partners from Western Europe is accompanied by more intensive contacts with local governments from the neighboring countries and Hungary, and enhanced cooperation with Eastern Partnership and Asian countries, especially with China, is a likely prospect.

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EU and Its Southern Neighbours: New Challenges for the European Neighbourhood Policy

Author(s): Beata Wojna / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2011

The violent, unprecedented socio-political changes in North Africa and the Middle East—the stepping down of Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, the anti-Qaddafi insurgency in Libya and people rallying for change in the other Arab states—prompt a revision of the EU’s approach to its southern neighbours. The present situation offers significant opportunities in this regard, even if the Arab transformations give rise to justified concerns about their further development and regional consequences.In the EU and its member states a debate is underway on the future of the EU’s policy towards the southern neighbours. The debate coincides with an across-the-board review of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the findings of which will be unveiled very soon by High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. This report is an attempt at an answer to the political and financial dilemmas of the EU’s policy towards the southern neighbours. It puts forward recommendations on ways to support states in the region in their process of democratic transition, drawing also on the transition experiences of some member states. It also points to actions to be taken by the EU and its member states to maintain a balance between the southern and eastern dimensions of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

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EU Communication Policy in Its Neighbourhood in Light of Third-Party Propaganda

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

Due to mounting Russian propaganda in the eastern neighbourhood and in the Baltic states, the EU set up a task force (East StratCom) in September to counter stereotypes about the Union disseminated by the Moscow apparatus. This is a step in the right direction, but a drop in the ocean of needs. The Union still allocates sparse resources to support independent media operating in Russian and in local languages. EU delegations face staff shortages in communication units, especially those covering social media, while the budgets of those units remain small in comparison to the countries covered by enlargement policy. This report examines the limitations of EU communication in the neighbourhood and draws on the experience of EU delegations to provide recommendations for building an image of the Union understandable to ordinary people.

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France and the Future of the European Union

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

Since the presidential election in the spring of 2012, French European policy has been in the spotlight. France’s position under the leadership of the new president, François Hollande, on the possible scenarios of the development of the European project, was the main theme of the conference organised by the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Invited to participate in the debate were: Alain Richard, senator and former defense minister of France, French Ambassador to Poland Pierre Buhler and Professor Zaki Laïdi from the Centre for European Studies Science Po. This report presents the main conclusions from the debate, as well as analysis of the situation within the Socialist Party, Franco-German relations and the French approach to future cooperation within the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy.

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From Lisbon to Europe 2020. Lisbon Strategy Implementation in 2010: Assessments and Prospects

Author(s): Marcin Koczor,Pawel Tokarski / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2011

Polish Institute of International Affairs published a report "From Lisbon to Europe 2020. Lisbon Strategy implementation in 2010: Assessments and Prospects" by Marcin Koczor and Paweł Tokarski. The publication contains the evaluation of the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy for 2010, a summary of the entire duration of the strategy and describes the place of the current EU economic strategy, Europe 2020, in the process of economic governance reform. The report also includes conclusions and recommendations for the current strategy – Europe 2020.

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GoodGov: lepsze rządzenie dzięki bliższej współpracy: współpraca polsko-norweska dla większej skuteczności polityki energetycznej, migracyjnej i bezpieczeństwa

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2016

Niniejszy raport przedstawia główne empiryczne wyniki projektu badawczego GoodGov. Projekt miał na celu po pierwsze zbadanie licznych problemów związanych z zarządzaniem w dziedzinach migracji, bezpieczeństwa i energii, w kontekstach narodowym, bilateralnym i europejskim, po drugie przyczynienie się do poprawy jakości tego zarządzania i do zacieśnienia współpracy między Polską a Norwegią. Zakładano, że skutkiem projektu będzie lepsze rozpoznanie możliwości reagowania w istniejących ramach europejskich na analizowane wyzwania, co pomoże decydentom w Polsce, Norwegii i UE w ich identyfikowaniu i dostarczy praktycznych informacji o sposobach postępowania.

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Has the EU Learnt from the Ukraine Crisis? Changes to Security, Energy and Migration Governance

Author(s): Jakub M. Godzimirski,Lidia Puka,Marta Stormowska / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2015

The Russia-Ukraine crisis has not only dramatically changed the EU’s security situation but also poses challenges well beyond the security arena. The conflict between Europe’s main energy supplier and its most important gas transit country has already had an impact on regional energy cooperation. The gas-price dispute between Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftohaz has halted gas deliveries to Ukraine. This in turn has raised fears of potential disruptions of gas supplies to the rest of Europe, putting energy security and solidarity mechanisms in the spotlight. The conflict also has had an obvious humanitarian dimension with the wide displacement of people from areas with fighting. Estimates of these people show many Ukrainians are seeking shelter in the EU. With the beginning of the new legislative cycle, the EU has the chance to respond to these outside events through its own internal logic of action. But have the lessons been fully understood? Is Europe lacking some instruments specific to the current crisis or are the deficiencies more structural? Find out in the new publication by the GoodGov project in which its authors analyse the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on EU security, energy and migration and take a closer look at Poland and Norway, two medium-size countries with different relations with the EU.

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IDEAS Report: Towards a Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian Security Community. From Vision to Reality

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

We are pleased to announce the release of the final report of the IDEAS project “Towards a Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian Security Community. From Vision to Reality”. The report includes an assessment of the current strategic environment in and around the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian regions, proposes a set of guiding principles for the development of the strategic community, and offers concrete proposals for increased cooperation in three areas: security, economic and environmental, and the human dimension. The report was presented at the forum of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). IDEAS (Initiative for the Development of a Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian Security Community) is a joint Track-2 project by the Centre for OSCE Research (CORE, Hamburg), the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (Paris), the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Russian Foreign Ministry (MGIMO), initiated by the ministers of foreign affairs of Germany, France, Poland and the Russian Federation. The PISM representative in the IDEAS Drafting Group is Łukasz Kulesa, the head of the Non-proliferation and Arms Control Project.

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India and Poland- Vistas for Future Partnership

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

Polish Institute of International Affairs is pleased to present the Report India and Poland: Vistas for Future Partnership prepared in cooperation with Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). The publication was edited by Patryk Kugiel, an analyst at the International Economic Relations and Global Issues Programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Poland, which has been increasingly active on the global stage in recent years, sees India as a prospective key economic and political partner. Recognising a significant potential of relations between the two countries, the Polish Institute of International Affairs together with the Indian Council of World Affairs organised the 3rd Poland-India Roundtable with the participation of experts and diplomats from both states who discussed chances for launching a strategic partnership between Poland and India. This report reflects the outcome of these debates, offering a realistic assessment of the challenges and potential in Polish-Indian relations along with practical recommendations for bringing the two nations closer.

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Is a New Cold War Inevitable? Central European Views on Rebuilding Trust in the Euro-Atlantic Region

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2014

The origins of the current crisis in relations between Russia and the West run much deeper than just a mere deficit of trust or inadequate communication channels, reiterate the authors of a new PISM Report.In their publication Is a New Cold War Inevitable? Central European Views on Rebuilding Trust in the Euro-Atlantic Region they examine the root causes of the problem.One of the main conclusions of the report is that mutual mistrust itself is not a product of misunderstanding of the motives guiding the other side, but rather it reflects some fundamental differences in values and interests. Only by enhancing our understanding of the roots of the current crisis and by making a realistic assessment of the chances for and terms of future rapprochement can we hope to develop new policy proposals for strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.Experts from Poland, the Czech Republic and Latvia offer a number of observations and suggestions to be taken into account by European decision-makers, especially at a time when the West and Russia are entering a phase of hostility and the threat of a major conflict can no longer be ignored. The authors seem to agree that efforts are needed to prevent a further disintegration of the European security system, highlighting the crucial role that could be played by the undervalued OSCE as well as the need for preserving the European system of conventional arms control.

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Is This the Future of Europe? Opportunities and Risks for Poland in a Union of Insiders and Outsiders

Author(s): / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2014

Poland risks falling into the political equivalent of the middle-income trap: having charted a remarkable rise within the EU, it may stagnate just before achieving lead status. The problem is clear: divisions within the Union that once favoured Poland, and diminished the gap between eastern and western members, may now turn against it. In the first comprehensive English-language analysis of the strategic opportunities and risks facing member states across a range of policy areas, PISM analysts ask: can Warsaw exploit Europe's new divisions and complete its own 'arrested accession'? This collection of essays identifies opportunities for Poland to act as a mediator between coalitions of antagonistic member states (energy policy; EU institutions; budget), to harness 'differentiated' integration and enlargement (Eurozone; ENP; EU enlargement), and to adapt to the emergence of clusters of member states (External Action Service; Visegrad cooperation; public opinion).

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Kierunek Iran! Stosunki polsko-irańskie i możliwości ich rozwoju

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 2014

The report is the result of a visit paid by PISM analysts to Iran in December 2013. The authors describe historical, political and economic contexts of Polish-Iranian relations, outline the sanctions imposed on Teheran, including recent changes in the aftermath of the Geneva negotiations, analyse the potential development of economic cooperation despite the sanctions, and provide recommendations for an enhancement of relations between the two countries.

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Konferencja Przeglądowa Traktatu o nierozprzestrzenianiu broni jądrowej (NPT) w 2015 roku: nowy kompromis lub ryzyko erozji

Author(s): Jacek Durkalec,Artur Kacprzyk,Marcin Andrzej Piotrowski / Language(s): Polish / Publication Year: 2015

The NPT was signed in 1968, entered into force in 1970, and is currently almost universal in its application. The treaty regulates the peaceful use of nuclear energy and prevents further proliferation of nuclear weapons, becoming the basis for safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, resolutions of the UN Security Council, national export control regimes and many other ad hoc international initiatives. The forthcoming 2015 Review Conference of the NPT will gather in a less favourable atmosphere than the previous one in 2010. The success or failure of the conference will be determined by three factors: 1) how Arab countries address the failure of efforts regarding the Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone; 2) perceptions of ongoing negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme; 3) reaching consensus on the humanitarian initiative addressing the disarmament pillar of the NPT. Another factor, though having less impact on the conference, might also be Russian aggression in Crimea and Moscow’s breach of the Budapest Memorandum. Poland’s active and constructive participation in the NPT Review Conference might increase its chances of gaining wider support for its candidature to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2018–2019.

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Learning from Past Experiences: Ways to Improve EU Aid on Reforms in the Eastern Partnership

Author(s): Elzbieta Kaca,Anita Sobják,Konrad Zasztowt / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2014

With financial and political crisis looming over Ukraine, the region of the Eastern Partnership is facing a period of increasing uncertainty. How effective is EU aid on reforms as a tool for easing and encouraging the transformation process in those countries? Does aid translate into real changes in the lives of ordinary people, or are reforms on paper merely a façade for corrupt and disengaged governments? And what lessons for the future can be learnt from the EU’s seven-year experience of aid delivery in the East?

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