Lesson from Poland for India

On 1 January this year, Poland took over the rotating presidency of the Council of European Union in a grand ceremony at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw.

- DK Giri

As the six-month presidency ends on the 30th June, it is a good time to assess the Polish performance from an Indian perspective. Like India, Warsaw faces an autocratic neighbour on its borders, which was once one of the two super powers, is in military occupation of an independent country, Ukraine, which shares long borders with it. Warsaw had fought wars against Russia that had invaded and occupied it. India's relations with autocratic China could not be dissimilar to that of Poland-Russia relations.

But, unlike India, Poland has been smart enough to join NATO for its security and the European Union for its growth and development. Of late, Poland has been the fastest-growing economy in Europe and is increasingly seen as the mouth-piece of Europe in view of the relative decline of Germany and France, the two big brothers of the European Union.