– It is a huge role of the Polish state to prepare Poland for the fact that it will become a net payer to the European Union budget, and not only will benefit from EU funds – said Professor Katarzyna Pisarska in “Fakty po Faktach”. As she added, “The European Union is not just funds.”
Elections to the European Parliament will be held on June 9. The guest of “Fakty po Faktach” was prof. Katarzyna Pisarska, chairwoman of the Kazimierz Pułaski Foundation Council, from the Warsaw School of Economics. She was asked about support in Polish society for membership in the European Union.
– We still see very strong support for the European Union. Recent polls showed that between 75 and 80 percent of Poles believe that we should remain in the European Union, she replied.
– This does not mean that they like everything related to the European Union. We are certainly becoming a bit Eurorealistic, because there is no longer such optimism, but there is also a huge role for the Polish state to prepare Poland for when Poland will become a net payer to the European Union budget, and will not only benefit from EU funds. Because we were so lucky that for the last 20 years we mainly used funds. But the European Union is not just about funds, she continued.
– This is access to the common market for our entrepreneurs. This is access to this market for our employees, students, open borders. The European Union is also a community in which we can cooperate together, including in foreign policy. And I have the impression that these arguments do not reach the general public, she added.
“Today we have a fight between two value systems”
The guest of “Fakty po Faktach” was also asked about the future of the European Union.
– Or we will use this great conflict with Russia to reform the Union, to expand the Union, to see countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, but also Georgia as part of the European Union, to accelerate the accession of the Balkan countries, to reform and prepare the Union, to make it closer to citizens, or there will be a great challenge in the future for the Union, who and what the Union really is – said Professor Katarzyna Pirska.
She assessed that “today we have a fight between two value systems.” – The system of values supported by the European Union, focused around people's rights, citizens' rights, and great democratic ideas. And countries, on the other hand, are authoritarian, which see Western countries as a huge threat and use all mechanisms, including democratic ones in our countries, to undermine trust in public institutions, trust in democratic institutions and trust in the European Union, she added.
Prof. Katarzyna PisarskaTVN24
Pisarska also talked about the importance of knowledge about the operation of European institutions – including: the European Parliament, the European Council – because “these are the institutions that decide about our lives.” – Just as citizens must know what the Sejm is, what the Senate is, who the president of the country is, what the constitution is, they should also know what European institutions are and how the European Union works. Without this knowledge, it is very easy to manipulate our societies, she said.
Main photo source: TVN24