Paging Speaker Jose C. de Venecia

WARSAW: With its looming accession to the European Union, Poland offers excellent trade and diplomatic opportunities for the Philippines. But we will be unable to take advantage of these opportunities if we do not work out a better rationale for our presence in Central Europe in which Poland is the superior connection. Hopefully, this neglect can be corrected with two Polish parliamentarians promising to work hard at establishing formal diplomatic ties between the two countries before the end of term of this Parliament. This is easier said than done but at least "we can begin talking more seriously about formal relations from both sides," two Polish parliamentarians promised. When I return home at the end of this week, I will be carrying letters from Janusz Lisak, Member of Parliament, Chairman Parliamentary Group of the Union of Labor; and Dr. Zbigniew Kulak, Senator Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and European Integration addressed to Speaker Jose de Venecia, expressing these sentiments for direct RP-Polish relations. It is especially distressing that other countries in Southeast Asia like Indonesia and Thailand are poised to reap benefits with its EU accession because of long established diplomatic ties with the strategic Central European country. Here is an instance when our Catholic region should have served us well but so far it has not.

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Indeed, the invitation to from the Polish government as well as other arrangements for Amando Doronila and myself had to be coursed to the Manila honorary consulate through the Polish embassies in Jakarta and Bangkok. Poland is a big country with a dynamic population of almost 40 million people. As such it will have a big voice in the European Union with a committee vote of 26 which is at par with Spain, that other country with which we have historical relations to call on. Looking at the table of countries in Central Europe we have diplomatic relations with the Czech Republic which is not even half as important as Poland and a population of only 10 million, while Poland is universally acknowledged historically as the heart of Central Europe with vast geopolitical implications and a dynamic population. The Poles are so dynamic, the hero who dealt the first blow at the Iron Curtain the charismatic Lech Walesa is all but passé. The Polish have moved on from those glory days. "He has a television program on fishing" quipped a young tourist guide. All this is to say that we have got our priorities wrong in Central Europe. Poland is the key country in this region and the sooner we establish relations the better for us. But all means relate to other countries like Romania and Czechoslovakia but the lynch pin ought to be in Warsaw and the correction of this diplomatic miscalculation has become urgent with its accession into the EU.

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Fortunately, the drive for diplomatic relations is not one-sided. Poland has every interest to see it through with Polish exports to the Philippines, a meager $5 million while their imports were at $65 m, 10 percent of these electronic products. The balance of trade with Southeast Asia is negative to Poland imports at 10 percent of total value imports and only 0.17 percent of Polish technical products like good quality machinery to extract salt, sulphur other minerals. The point is that there is much more trade potential that is not being tapped by closer relations between the two countries. "We have a capacity to export machinery, powdered milk, paper cellulose, steel, iron, ships, shipyards, ports, that is not being tapped" argued Senator Kulak. That may soon come to pass when I told them that the man to contact for a parliamentary channel was Speaker Jose de Venecia himself who has been a driving force in interparliamentary initiative around the world. That is how I got myself into this diplomatic errand to carry their letters personally to the Speaker.

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More interesting was their revelation that work on an intercontinental railway system from Asia to Europe passing through Poland was also on the drawing board. Bingo! Along with their letters comes also a briefing paper on what they can offer for railway construction and all the other accessories of a railway system. Who knows? The Polish offer may even be better than China’s. In any case competing bids will be favorable to the Philippines if the Polish are able to put together a good package for Joe de V’s magnum opus of a railway system running from north to south. At the same time, there is nothing wrong with looking also at their capacity to build ports and provide ships, among other things.

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In meeting after meeting, it became increasingly clear to me that there is overwhelming public support for Poland’s accession into the EU. Poland will be the bridge to the other former Communist countries in Central Europe who also want to be part of the EU. Public support for entry into EU has 67 percent public support. This is not surprising. Poland’s foreign policy is consistent historically with their desire to be part of Western Europe. "The impact on our economy will be positive similar to what happened to Ireland 23 years ago when it first became EU member" added the Polish parliamentarians. They are optimistic that by the middle of December negotiations will be completed, its way having been cleared by the Irish vote of an emphatic yes earlier this week.

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My e-mail address: [email protected]