The

Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

is a

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

an country and member of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

, among others. Poland wields considerable influence in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

and is a middle power in international affairs. The foreign policy of Poland is based on four basic commitments: to Atlantic co-operation, to European integration, to international development and to international law. The Polish economy is fairly open and relies strongly on international trade. Since the collapse of communism and its re-establishment as a democratic nation, Poland has extended its responsibilities and position in European and Western affairs, supporting and establishing friendly foreign relations with both the West and with numerous European countries.

History

Foreign policy topics are covered in the history articles: *

History of Poland The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from medieval tribes, Christianization and monarchy; through Poland's Golden Age, expansionism and becoming one of the largest European powers; to its collapse and partitions, two world wars ...

** History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795) **

History of Poland (1795–1918) From 1795 to 1918, Poland was split between Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and Russia and had no independent existence. In 1795 the third and the last of the three 18th-century partitions of Poland ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuania ...

, when it was split three ways between Germany, Russia and Austria and had no foreign policy ***

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

(1807–1815) a semi-independent country *** History of Poland during World War I **

History of Poland (1918–1939) The history of interwar Poland comprises the period from the revival of the independent Polish state in 1918, until the Invasion of Poland from the West by Nazi Germany in 1939 at the onset of World War II, followed by the Soviet Union from th ...

History of Poland (1939–1945) The history of Poland from 1939 to 1945 encompasses primarily the period from the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to the end of World War II. Following the German–Soviet non-aggression pact, Poland was invaded by Nazi ...

History of Poland (1945–1989) The history of Poland from 1945 to 1989 spans the period of Marxist–Leninist regime in Poland after the end of World War II. These years, while featuring general industrialization, urbanization and many improvements in the standard of living, ...

** History of Poland (1989–present)

Integration with the West and Europe

After regaining independence in 1989, Poland has forged ahead on its economic reintegration with the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. Poland also has been an active nation in advocating

European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic, political, legal, social, and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its ...

. In 1994, Poland became an associate member of the

(EU) and its defensive arm, the

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...

(WEU). In 1996, Poland achieved full

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...

membership and submitted preliminary documentation for full EU membership. Poland formally joined the European Union in May 2004, along with the other members of the Visegrád Group.

NATO membership

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (, born 13 September 1950) is a Polish left-wing politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland for a year from 7 February 1996 to 31 October 1997, after being defeated in the Parliamentary elections by the Solidari ...

told a 2014 audience at the Wilson Center that Poland sought to join NATO as early as 1992. In 1997, Poland was invited in the first wave of NATO enlargement at the July 1997 NATO Madrid summit. In March 1999, Poland became a full member of

. Poland promoted its NATO candidacy through energetic participation in the

Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; french: Partenariat pour la paix) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet state ...

(PfP) program and through intensified individual dialogue with NATO. Poland was a part of the

multinational force in Iraq Multinational may refer to: * Multinational corporation, a corporate organization operating in multiple countries * Multinational force, a military body from multiple countries * Multinational state, a sovereign state that comprises two or more ...

Bilateral relations

List of countries which Poland established diplomatic relations with:

Africa

Americas

Asia

Europe

Oceania

References

. A History of Poland. Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982 / . *Davies, Norman. ''Heart of Europe: A Short History of Poland.'' Oxford University Press, 1984. 511 pp
excerpt and text search
* *Frucht, Richard. ''Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe: From the Congress of Vienna to the Fall of Communism'' Garland Pub., 200
online edition
* Gerson Louis L. '' Woodrow Wilson and the Rebirth of Poland 1914-1920'' (1972) * Hetherington, Peter. ''Unvanquished: Joseph Pilsudski, Resurrected Poland, and the Struggle for Eastern Europe'' (2012) 752p
excerpt and text search
*Kenney, Padraic. "After the Blank Spots Are Filled: Recent Perspectives on Modern Poland," ''Journal of Modern History'' (2007) 79#1 pp 134–61
in JSTOR
historiography * Klatt, Malgorzata. "Poland and its Eastern neighbours: Foreign policy principles." ''Journal of Contemporary European Research'' 7.1 (2011): 61-76
online
* Korbel, Josef. ''Poland Between East and West: Soviet and German Diplomacy toward Poland, 1919–1933'' (Princeton University Press, 1963) * Kuźniar, R. ed. ''Poland's Security Policy 1989-2000'' (Warsaw: Scholar Publishing House, 2001). *Lerski, George J. ''Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945.'' Greenwood, 1996. 750 pp
online
* Leslie, R. F. et al. ''The History of Poland since 1863.'' Cambridge U. Press, 1980. 494 pp
excerpt
*Lukowski, Jerzy and Zawadzki, Hubert. ''A Concise History of Poland.'' (2nd ed. Cambridge U. Press, 2006). 408pp
excerpts and search
* Magocsi, Paul Robert t al. ''A History of East Central Europe'' (1974). *Pogonowski, Iwo Cyprian. ''Poland: A Historical Atlas.'' Hippocrene, 1987. 321 pp. * Prazmowska, Anita J. ''A History of Poland'' (2004\) *Sanford, George. ''Historical Dictionary of Poland.'' Scarecrow Press, 2003. 291 pp. * Snyder, Timothy. ''The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999'' (2003). * Wróbel, Piotr. ''Historical Dictionary of Poland, 1945-1996.'' Greenwood, 1998. 397 pp. * Zięba, Ryszard. ''Poland's Foreign and Security Policy'' Springer, 2020
online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Relations Of Poland .

1795 Events January–June * January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the CET records dating back to 1659. * January 14 – The University of North Carolina opens to students at Chapel Hill, becoming t ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...