Poland’s Courteous Visa Gesture to Kyiv

In a joint statement, the Ukrainian and Polish Presidents, Leonid Kuchma and Aleksander Kwasniewski, declared that Warsaw would institute liberal visa procedures for Ukrainian nationals, in keeping with the EU requirements and the Schengen accord. The new visa treatment will take effect July 1, including the issuance of free visas. Leonid Kuchma also informed about Kyiv’s landmark decision to allow Polish citizens to enter Ukraine visa-free. In fact, this was Warsaw’s condition on which it agreed to introduce the liberal visa treatment. The Ukrainian president noted Aleksander Kwasniewski’s major role in making the decision, adding that it was a political rather than economic issue.

For the past three years President Kwasniewski has actually served as a liaison officer between Ukraine, Western Europe, and the United States, so his every meeting with President Kuchma could perhaps be regarded a significant event. The more so that their rendezvous at Sinehora, a residence in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, was to be held earlier and in a different place, at the border checkpoint of Yahodyn. The change of place was due to what diplomats call technical reasons. Since their last meeting Leonid Kuchma had become “President of Presidents” of the CIS and his Polish counterpart is said to be the next NATO Secretary General. Mr. Kwasniewski has said nothing to refute the allegation, anyway. In a word, the Ukrainian-Polish top-level meeting was, of course, in the limelight with the media.

The presidents are known to have discussed not only visas, but also Polish proposals, concerning the “new Eastern neighbors” — Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova — to be debated by EU. These proposals also address the relationships between the expanded Union and its “new neighbors” and can be summed up as follows. Warsaw suggests that EU introduce an “Eastern dimension” in its politics. Poland is willing to be in charge there. Ukraine’s European choice is proposed to be recognized and the remote possibility of its EU membership considered — pro rata meeting the required criteria, raising the level of the political dialogue, economic cooperation, establishing a free trade zone, reforming the system of technological aid, instituting flexible visa procedures as a result of close cooperation in terms of justice and internal affairs, stepping up regional and transborder cooperation. It is also true, however, that both Polish and EU proposals point to disappointingly little progress being made in the Ukrainian domestic and foreign policies, which is regarded as a disconcerting factor. Warsaw, nevertheless, considers developing the Kyiv-EU dialog a necessity, for any other scenario could weaken the pro-European forces. For the time being, the Polish proposals are known to have been taken into consideration in Brussels, although EU reminds that Poland is still to join the Union. In other words, Warsaw cannot cast a vote in the matter. Its advocacy may have an altogether different meaning as of May 1, 2004, after Poland becomes a member of EU. By that time the distance between Kyiv and Warsaw will have increased, the efforts of both sides and national elites notwithstanding. Apart from different rates of development, this will be caused by the presidential campaign in Ukraine and the attendant problems. Aleksander Kwasniewski has often frankly said that Poland regards Ukraine getting European as a guarantee of its own security. This alone inspires hope that the Ukrainian and Polish presidents will maintain close contact.