How will the Visegrad Group proceed? Prime Minister Kaczyński for "Sieci": After some time it will come back to its activities

In an interview with the weekly Sieci, Deputy Prime Minister and President of the Law and Justice Jarosław Kaczyński also referred to relations with Hungary. The interview is an excerpt from the conversation, which contradicts the Hungarian opposition’s claim that the Visegrad Group, an important forum for Central Europe, is about to cease its activity.

Tygodnik Sieci, Dorota Łosiewicz, Michał Karnowski: Over the past few years, Hungary has been Poland’s ally in Europe. Does the coolness shown by Prime Minister Orban in the face of the war, which we perceive as being waged on our behalf, undermine this relationship?

JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI: Let’s look at it with a cold eye. Hungary has supported all sanctions proposed so far; it has condemned Russian aggression. They oppose a ban on oil imports from Russia, but unfortunately the same attitude is also held by Germany and some other important EU countries. We are aware of the differences in the Hungarian economy compared to that of Poland. First and foremost, there is the profound dependence on Russia in many dimensions, which developed under the post-Communist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. We are aware that this is difficult to break. We know that Hungary does have a different history, so it approaches things differently. There is also a large Hungarian minority in Ukraine.

We view Hungary’s attitude with criticism, and we hope that it will become more involved. However, this does not mean that we should stop cooperating in areas which are still conceivable. It should also be admitted honestly that we had always been aware of the differences between the attitude of Prime Minister Orban and our political camp towards Russia and Germany. This was already apparent during our long conversation in Nidzica years ago. We had known each other before, but it was then that we were able to recognise our positions in more depth for the first time.

The Hungarian opposition claims that the Visegrad Group is now dead; that Poland has broken these relations with Hungary. They are strongly pursuing this at the close of the election campaign. Is this really true?

In no way do we sever our relations. Prime Minister Morawiecki agreed with Prime Minister Orban and the other partners on a several-week suspension of the Visegrad Group, which will certainly resume its useful activities. I want to emphasise: there are differences, but we are dealing with a partner who has never concealed its stance, who has never cheated. In other areas of cooperation, for example in the EU, it has never let us down.

The full interview will be published on Monday in the „Sieci” weekly.

Tłum. K.J.