He has reiterated the very same line of many politicians, that they welcome Poles coming to work in Britain but hope they will return to Poland with experience and cash. He did very much stress this point at a visit to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, where he gave a speech presenting his vision of Europe.
The speech was taken very well with the overall sentiment being " here is a man who wants to be in Europe and part of Europe" which dispersed the prevailing opinion of the very much Eurosceptical attitude of the Polish head of state. He also met with businessmen, not only were there British members of the British chamber of commerce, but there were also six Polish businessmen, which points to the fact that Poles coming to Britain are not only working in the employ of other nationalities, but are coming here and are opening their business.
The London visit of the Polish head of state has been seen as a very fruitful and friendly one.
Agnieszka Bielawska
President Lech Kaczynski has met with HM Queen Elizabeth II in a private audience and held talks with PM Tony Blair. He also devoted much of his time to the Polish community resident in GB.
In fact it is said that Lech Kaczynski did not have such friendly talks with any other officials during his foreign trips as he did with PM Tony Blair. Both politicians underlined they shared common opinions and stand on matters concerning the EU and NATO as well as energy security.
George Matlock editor of Radio Orla, a station aimed at Poles in Britain in London, says that the British side was impressed to meet the Polish head of state.
Poland is seen very much as an ally of Britain, we should also remember it is Remembrance Week in Britain. The Polish president laid a wreath at the Polish war memorial in remembrance of the Polish war pilots in the Battle of Britain of 1940. He is also to visit Edinburgh to meet wit first Minister of Scotland and with the Polish community in Scotland, which remains a very large part of the local economy.
Lech Kaczynski met with representatives of the large Polish community in London. He honoured veterans as well as dignitaries of the Polish associations in Britain and spoke of the Polish job migration to the UK. President Lech Kaczynski thanked Britain for opening its job market to Poles after EU accession.
I thank Britain for giving Poles the chance to earn money, to improve their skills and to learn the language. But I still hope they will come back home enriched with new experiences.
George Matlock again…
He has reiterated the very same line of many politicians, that they welcome Poles coming to work in Britain but hope they will return to Poland with experience and cash. He did very much stress this point at a visit to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, where he gave a speech presenting his vision of Europe.
The speech was taken very well with the overall sentiment being " here is a man who wants to be in Europe and part of Europe" which dispersed the prevailing opinion of the very much Eurosceptical attitude of the Polish head of state. He also met with businessmen, not only were there British members of the British chamber of commerce, but there were also six Polish businessmen, which points to the fact that Poles coming to Britain are not only working in the employ of other nationalities, but are coming here and are opening their business.
President Lech Kaczynski met with her Majesty at a private audience, the meeting, says George Matlock, was not the highlight of the visit, since the visit was not held at the invitation of the Queen. But the important thing is that during talks with Tony Blair a lot of common ground was covered.
”Including energy policy in Europe and many others. Perhaps the only disappointment is that Tony Blair has only one year in office, while the Polish president much more. So whether the good work done by these two politicians will be continued remains to be seen after the Tony Blair's successor takes over at 10 Downing Street.
During the London visit of President Lech Kaczynski a Polish British declaration was adopted which underlines among others, the fact that the visit opens a new chapter in the relations between Poland and GB. It has been pointed that the two states are not only linked by common history, but by a common look into the future as well.
