Luncheon Speech to Poland's Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek

Prime Minister Buzek,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,

Today we are renewing the bonds of friendship between Norway and Poland.

We do so in the context of a new and undivided Europe.
We do so in the context of an expanding partnership around the Baltic Sea.
And we do so in the context of mutual respect and admiration between two European nations.

It gives me a special pleasure to meet you all for this lunch. A particular word of welcome goes to my colleague and friend Prime Minister Buzek. I sincerely appreciated our talks this morning – full of content – full of ideas.

For my generation, Poland holds a very special position in the history of modern Europe.

We grew up on a divided continent. Yet we had a strong dream of seeing walls coming down – of seeing what belongs together come together.

When Willy Brandt knelt at a grave in Warszaw we felt that this could be more than a dream.

When the shipyard workers in Gdansk raised for democracy and labour rights we were even more convinced that the dream one day would come true.

Then followed the difficult years of repression.

Until Poland gave Europe a spring of hope and unification. The fall of the Berlin wall started here.

The iron curtain that in Churchill’s words stretched from Stetting to Trieste started to unravel in Gdansk and Gdynia.

Today I visit Poland our NATO ally.
Poland our partner in OSSE, OECD, WTO and the United Nations.
Poland our Baltic neighbour.

That Poland and Norway have a lot to explore together is nothing new. Our peoples have traded and dealt peacefully with each other for centuries. Never have we been at war. Always has there been mutual respect and friendship.

What is new is the expanding regional context in which we now place our bilateral relationship.

With geographical creativity, Norway has been included into the Baltic Sea cooperation. We do not share the Baltic shores – but we share a Baltic destiny.

Today, this is perhaps the most exciting region in Europe. This is where east meets west. This is literally where Europe grows together.

Last time I met Prime Minister Buzek was in April in Denmark at the Baltic Sea States Summit which I had the honour to chair.

Our agenda reflected the new Europe: Security is no longer a complex balance of power and counting of weapons.

Security is raising to threats of ugly nationalism and ethnic discrimination.

Security is laying the ground for a healthy environment.

Security is inspiring a growing network of people, industry and civil society.

Security is safety from organised crime.

Security is safety from ill-health and the spread of disease.

Security is also diversity of energy supply.

Norway and Poland are moving towards an historic agreement on large supplies of natural gas from the North Sea. This morning we signed a statement calling for new momentum towards the landmark day when gas will flow to Polish end users and beyond through a dedicated pipeline from the North Sea.

All of this would have been hard to imagine fifteen years ago. But today it is happening. Dreams that inspired my generation to get engaged in politics are coming true.

Yet a lot lies ahead.

In the months and years to come the united Europe will face its biggest challenge ever as the European Union prepares for enlargement.

As of today Norway is not among the candidates. But Poland is. And Norway lends its full support to your efforts. The enlargement of the European Union is perhaps the most significant investment in peace and stability there is.

We all stand to gain from its success.

Poland’s membership of the EU will also change relations between our two countries. From the day you join we will be part of the same European Economic Area. Trade will be further expanded. We will be part of the same labour market.

The programme of my visit tells of the diversity of opportunities ahead of us.

This morning several workshops were organised for Norwegian business representatives and their Polish colleagues. Never has there been greater mutual interest for trade and technological exchange.

We have held an environmental seminar with a particular focus on how we can improve our efforts against climate change.

Together we can make combined efforts for joint implementation to follow up on the Kyoto protocol.

Energy supplies from Norway to Poland must be seen in this perspective. When natural gas from the North Sea enters the Polish grid, dependence on polluting coal will go down.

The environment will benefit. In Poland, in the Baltic region and globally.

Prime Minister,

Some 200 Norwegian companies operate in Poland. Many of them have joined me on this visit.

They cover a wide range of sectors - maritime and offshore industries, seafood products, the environment, the defence industry, information technology, telecommunications and property development.

Together they believe in a future of opportunities between Norway and Poland.

A future of opportunities in the Baltic Sea region.
A future of opportunities in Europe.

We will do what it takes to create an encouraging framework for their efforts.

Prime Minister Buzek,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please join me in a toast for the friendship between Norway and Poland.

Ours is a future of opportunities.