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Poland tries to rally V4 countries on Russia

PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp 11.10.2014 12:37
Poland’s newly appointed foreign minister Grzegorz Schetyna has spoken of the need for other member countries of the Visegrad Group to take a tougher stance against Russia.

Poland's
Poland's Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna (left) with his Czech counterpart Lubomir Zaoralek speaking at a press conference in Prague, 10.10.2014 Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak

The comments come as Schetyna was in Prague on Friday at a meeting of the four-nation group, also known as the V4, which includes Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

After the joint meeting, Schetyna said that Poland’s and the Czech Republic’s stance on Russia were more and more in line with each other, underlining that “we have a similar opinion on Russian sanctions and Moscow’s actions in eastern Ukraine”.

For his part, the Czech foreign minister Lubomir Zaoralek said that Prague had not held a tough line on Russia as Moscow’s response would have hit Czech industry.

“In Poland, Russian sanctions on agricultural produce caused a stir, and we here in the Czech Republic have been concerned with Russia’s embargo on our tools and agricultural machinery, this is due to the nature of our economy,” he said.

Recently, the V4 countries have been calling for a reset of economic relations with Moscow.

At the end of September, the Czech President Milos Zeman called for a lifting of EU sanctions against Russia, while Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has promised to rebuild good relations with Moscow.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban also aired his dismay at the EU’s current shift in its politics towards Russia.

Poland gains ally on climate policy

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic has joined Poland’s call to counter the EU’s climate package at a EU Council summit later in October.

Foreign ministers from both countries confirmed that they will oppose the EU’s measures to reduce carbon emissions by up to 40 percent by 2020, lobbying for the initial figure of 20 percent as had originally been set out by Brussels.

The Czech foreign minister Zaoralek said that while the Czech Republic agrees on cutting emissions, the 40-percent reduction figure “should be voluntary”.

The announcement comes as last week minister Schetyna was in Paris to discuss the EU’s climate package, where he heard that France may back Poland’s claim.

October’s EU Council meeting is to set a common EU stance on the climate ahead of a key UN climate summit in Paris next year. (jb)

Source: IAR/PAP

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