The Eastern Partnership was accepted as a policy of the whole European Union and was created to contribute to the modernization of the countries in the neighborhood, stated Poland’s Ambassador in Chisinau Artur Michalski. In the public debate “Moldova after Vilnius and Riga: opportunities and challenges for the next destination”, which was organized by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova, the diplomat spoke about the European integration experience of Poland.

Artur Michalski said the EaP laid the foundations for modernizing the member states of this program and offered development instruments to these. The Republic of Moldova, as a member of the EaP, started to use these instruments. Poland, which is one of the founding states of the Eastern Partnership, considers that the program hasn’t yet completed its mission and will thus continue.

The diplomat spoke about a number of resemblances and differences in the European integration process of Poland and Moldova. First of all, Poland didn’t form part of the Soviet Union, even if it was under Soviet influence. In Poland, the private property has always been kept and this made the people think independently. The keeping of Christianity was another important factor. The church was fully separated from the state. Also, the Communist ideology wasn’t accepted by the Polish people.

In another development, Artur Michalski said there was always an alternative society in Poland, which was outside the Communist ideology. “For us, it was clear that we will return to the family of the free European peoples. We discussed the conditions of the return, the time and the method. But these were details. For us, it was clear that we go towards the EU. There weren’t geopolitical doubts,” he stated.

The public debate entitled “Moldova after Vilnius and Riga: opportunities and challenges for the next destination” is the 56th installment of the series “Developing political culture by public debates” that are staged with the support of the German foundation “Hanns Seidel”.