The Head of the Polish wing of the Assembly, the Deputy Marshal of the Polish Sejm, Ryszard Terlecki opened the meeting. He reminded that the sitting was supposed to take place in Warsaw, but it did not due to the coronavirus pandemic. R. Terlecki then invited the Head of the Ukrainian wing of the Assembly Olena Kondratiuk and her team to visit Poland this autumn.
R. Terlecki informed the conferees about the six topics that are to be talked over during this meeting and notified that the ongoing sitting is thought to result in a joint declaration.
Ryszard Terlecki gave the floor to Olena Kondratiuk, the Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Head of the Ukrainian Part of the Parliamentary Assembly of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland.
Olena Kondratiuk congratulated the audience. "The fact alone, that we, despite the coronavirus pandemic, are still having our online meeting, does show that we really want a friendly and comprehensive Ukrainian-Polish dialogue," the vice speaker stated and expressed her conviction that the Ukrainian and Polish parliaments should play one of the key roles in building this dialogue.
Olena Kondratiuk stressed that Ukraine and the Republic of Poland have no choice but to develop good-neighbour, equal and mutually beneficial relations. "Here in Ukraine, we are well aware what aggression is and what war is. The war against our country is still on, and it’s very near. Ukraine has already paid and continues to pay an exorbitant price for being part of the European community," Olena Kondratiuk highlighted, and then thanked Ryszard Terlecki for visiting Ukraine’s frontline zones.
Both of the parties underlined the importance of discussing their common security as well, as today no one is safe from outrage or a hybrid aggression – or its political, economic, humanitarian or armed component.
O. Kondratiuk addressed the participants with a request to support this desire of Ukraine. She noted that both countries should engage in major strategic projects - these can be projects not only in the field of infrastructure and transport, but also energy and military-industrial complex.
She also then mentioned Ukrainian labour migrants, millions of whom work selflessly today in European countries, making a significant contribution to the growth of foreign economies. Olena Kondratiuk asked her Polish colleagues to remember this, taking care of and treating them as if their own citizens.
She also turned to Ukrainian-Polish historical relations stressing the acute need of “mutual understanding and reconciliation". The politician expressed confidence that "Ukrainians and Poles should not be in permanent thrall to their tragic history. Further still, we both have enough strength to create a future where there will be no mutual grievances, stereotypes, prejudices or mistrust, but only the desire to live and cooperate in a united European family”.
Olena Kondratiuk wished all members of the Parliamentary Assembly success and called on for a joint work.
The Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine introduced Ukrainian participants of the sitting, giving them the floor for their short speeches. After the speeches, Olena Kondratiuk yielded the floor to the Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Ryszard Terlecki, who, in turn, introduced the Polish attendees.
The first part of the sitting "Actions taken by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Sejm and the Senate of the Republic of Poland to rebalance economic and social stability disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic" took place, followed by a short discussion.
The conferees then had talks on regional security, which included issues relating to information war, cyberattacks and hybrid threats.
During the first part of the meeting, the participants also discussed the Ukrainian-Polish cooperation in the military and energy spheres, development assistance and humanitarian aid.
Chaired by Ryszard Terlecki, the second part of the session of the Ukraine-Poland Parliamentary Assembly began.
The politicians canvassed the Ukrainian-Polish trade and economic relations – the infrastructure, customs regulations, border checkpoints, labour migration and so forth.
The points of social development and educational cooperation did gain a lot of talk as well.
During the meeting, there took place a Ukrainian-Polish historical dialogue. The Polish side was represented by the Deputy Marshal of the Polish Sejm Malgorzata Gosiewska, while MP Mykola Kniazhytskyi spoke on behalf of the Ukrainian side.
The Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk and the Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Ryszard Terlecki took stock of the XII Session of the Ukraine-Poland Parliamentary Assembly.
Ryszard Terlecki, in particular, noted: “It is clear today that the most important issue is the fight against the pandemic and its economic consequences. Our governments and parliaments will work on this. We have discussed a lot of issues that we have just labelled and will be involved in addressing them in the future. I am very pleased that this meeting took place. This autumn, we invite our guests from Ukraine to visit Warsaw".
Olena Kondratiuk thanked her Polish colleagues for organizing the dialogue, which does signal that “we all are striving for a joint dialogue, for concerted efforts to establish our inter-parliamentary collaboration".
Olena Kondratiuk also announced the joint declaration and expressed hope that it would be signed during the next meeting in October.
The sitting of the XII Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland ended at this point.