During her visit to Paris on 28–30 January, Senate Marshal Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska attended two concerts celebrating the Polish presidency of the EU Council, took part in deliberations of the French Senate and participated in meetings with the Polish community.
Referring to Poland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, she noted that it came at a time of geopolitical storm, when all the pillars of the post-war order were being shaken. The Marshal expressed confidence that Europe would enter the new era strengthened, “great in its unity and in its diversity.” However, she was adamant that now was the time to defend Europe and to support those who were giving their lives in Ukraine for the sake of the European dream. “It is this European dream that is our greatest strength. Europe was, is and will be great because it can be innovative and caring. But when necessary, it can also show its strength,” said the Senate Marshal.
During her visit to Paris on 28–30 January, Senate Marshal Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska attended two concerts celebrating the Polish presidency of the EU Council, took part in deliberations of the French Senate and participated in meetings with the Polish community.
On the first day, Marshal Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska and a delegation consisting of Senator Bogdan Borusewicz, Chairman of the Emigration Affairs and Contacts with Poles Abroad Committee, Senator Grzegorz Schetyna, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Senator Jacek Włosowicz, Deputy Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee, visited the Senate of the French Republic, where they held talks with, among others, the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher. During the meeting, they discussed the challenges facing the European Union, as well as the forthcoming Polish-French bilateral treaty on closer friendship and cooperation. The Marshal took part in the deliberations of the French Senate.
“Security in the broadest sense is the most important thing for Europe right now. We are talking about defence, but also the economy, climate, and energy, because all these things are the building blocks of our sovereignty and security. It is important for us to have the sense that our sovereign countries, acting in concert, make Europe strong. And that is something on which we fully agree,” stressed Marshal Kidawa-Błońska.
Together with President Gérard Larcher, they announced a joint meeting of the Weimar Triangle during the Polish Presidency of the EU Council. “We would like to invite a representative of Ukraine to this meeting,” said the Marshal.
At the end of the first day of the visit, the Polish delegation, led by the Senate Marshal, took part in a gala concert held to mark Poland’s assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Polish Army Artistic Ensemble gave a performance at the Saint-Louis des Invalides Field Cathedral in Paris.
Before the concert began, Marshal Kidawa-Błońska delivered a speech. “Bonaparte has given us the example / Of how we should prevail…,” she said, quoting the words of the Polish national anthem. “In this place and at this time, these words can hardly be forgotten. The fact that the inauguration of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union is taking place right here, at Napoleon’s sarcophagus, reminds us both of the Polish-French brotherhood of arms and our common defence of the vision of a modern Europe at that time. A Europe of liberty, equality and fraternity,” noted the Marshal. “‘Bonaparte has given us the example.’ These words are particularly relevant today, when Europe’s most important task is to ensure our security. Our security, that is, the security of a European family that shares common values,” said the Senate Marshal. She went on to stress that security is a priority of the Polish Presidency, adding: “We are talking about it in Paris, because France is a guarantor of this security and, with all its military capacity, forms the basis of the European pillar of NATO.”
Referring to Poland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, she noted that it came at a time of geopolitical storm, when all the pillars of the post-war order were being shaken. The Marshal expressed confidence that Europe would enter the new era strengthened, “great in its unity and in its diversity.” However, she was adamant that now was the time to defend Europe and to support those who were giving their lives in Ukraine for the sake of the European dream. “It is this European dream that is our greatest strength. Europe was, is and will be great because it can be innovative and caring. But when necessary, it can also show its strength,” said the Senate Marshal.
On the second day, a delegation from the Senate of the Republic of Poland attended a concert for the Polish community in France, performed by the Representative Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Army, on the occasion of Poland’s assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU. The concert took place at the Hôtel de Monaco in Paris.
Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska reminded the audience that the most important task of the Senate was to take care of Polish communities abroad. “And we do not just want to look after them, we want to cooperate with Polish communities abroad,” she stressed, informing that after five years the Senate would once again receive funds that “can enable Polish communities abroad to act, so we are counting on your interesting proposals and invite you to participate in the competition launched by the Polish Senate.”
During the three-day visit, the Senate delegation also met with the Polish community in France, representatives of the Association of the Literary Institute “Culture” in Maisons-Laffitte and of the Adam Mickiewicz Polish School at the Polish Embassy in Paris, and visited the Polish Library and the Notre Dame Cathedral, which reopened five years after a tragic fire. The last item on the agenda was a visit to the Panthéon to lay flowers on the tombs of Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie.
