President Amherd visits Poland in view of its upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union
Bern, 17.10.2024 - On Thursday, 17 October, President Viola Amherd met with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda to discuss their countries’ bilateral relations, the negotiations between Switzerland and the EU, the security situation in Europe, migration matters and geopolitical developments. Poland will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2025.
At the meeting in Warsaw, both sides emphasised the excellent relations between Switzerland and Poland, which are characterised by close political, economic, cultural and scientific ties. Cooperation as part of Switzerland's second contribution to selected EU member states is also important. With a total of CHF 320.1 million until 2029, Poland will receive the largest cohesion framework credit among the 15 countries benefiting from this second Swiss contribution. The cooperation programme is particularly geared towards socially disadvantaged regions and promotes stability in Europe. A further priority is research at Polish universities. The programme offers an opportunity to intensify contacts and technical cooperation between Swiss and Polish research institutions.
In the current, increasingly unstable geopolitical context, both sides agreed that close partners should maintain good and stable relations. With regard to the bilateral relations between Switzerland and the EU, President Amherd gave an update on the state of the negotiations. She and President Duda also discussed outstanding issues. Ms Amherd emphasised the need for balanced solutions to stabilise and further develop bilateral relations to the mutual benefit of both sides and to gain domestic support in Switzerland and in the EU. Mr Duda, in turn, outlined the priorities of his country’s presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2025.
The discussion on the security situation focused on the war in Ukraine and the Ukraine Mine Action Conference (UMAC2024), which opened in Lausanne on the same day and addresses the importance of mine clearance as part of the recovery of Ukraine. The conference in Lausanne follows the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2022) in Lugano in July 2022 and the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock resort in June 2024. The discussion in Warsaw focused on the solidarity of both countries with Ukraine and the steps needed to achieve a just and lasting peace.
Further topics included geopolitical developments, in particular the situation in the Middle East, the state of multilateralism, and Switzerland's second presidency of the UN Security Council this month. On Friday, Ms Amherd will meet with the presidents of Poland’s parliamentary chambers, Szymon Hołownia and Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska.
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