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The Republic of Poland is a
Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, among others. Poland wields considerable influence in Central and
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
and is a
middle power A middle power is a state that is not a superpower or a great power, but still exerts influence and plays a significant role in international relations. These countries often possess certain capabilities, such as strong economies, advanced tech ...
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. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Poland) Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...
looks after the foreign relations of Poland. As of May 2024 the ministry was held by Radosław Sikorski.


History

Foreign policy topics are covered in the history articles: *
History of Poland The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from Lechites, medieval tribes, Christianization of Poland, Christianization and Kingdom of Poland, monarchy; through Polish Golden Age, Poland's Golden Age, Polonization, expansionism and be ...
** History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795) ** History of Poland (1795–1918), when it was split three ways between Germany, Russia and Austria and had no foreign policy ***
Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...
(1807–1815) a semi-independent country *** History of Poland during World War I ** History of Poland (1918–1939) ** History of Poland (1939–1945) ** History of Poland (1945–1989) **
History of Poland (1989–present) From 1989 through 1991, Poland engaged in a Democratization, democratic transition which put an end to the Polish People's Republic and led to the foundation of a democratic government, known as the Third Polish Republic (Polish language, Polish: ...


Integration with the West and Europe

After regaining independence in 1989, Poland has ahead on its economic reintegration with the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
. Poland also has been an active nation in advocating
European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...
. In 1994, Poland became an associate 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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(EU) and its defensive arm, the
Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; , UEO; , WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (alliance) , Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 Treaty of Brussels. The WEU implement ...
(WEU). In 1996, Poland achieved full
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
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 The Visegrád Group (also known as the Visegrád Four or the V4) is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The alliance aims to advance co-operation in military, e ...
.


the European Union membership


NATO membership

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (, born 13 September 1950 in Warsaw) is a Polish 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 Solidarity ...
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
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
. Poland promoted its NATO candidacy through energetic participation in the
Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; ) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust and cooperation between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet states; 18 states are ...
(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 na ...
.


Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Poland maintains diplomatic relations with:


Bilateral relations


Multilateral


Africa


Americas


Asia


Europe


Oceania


See also

* List of diplomatic missions in Poland * List of diplomatic missions of Poland * Polish involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq * Poland in the European Union


References


Further reading

*Biskupski, M. B. ''The History of Poland.'' Greenwood, 2000. 264 pp
online edition
*''The Cambridge History of Poland'', 2 vols., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1941 (1697–1935), 1950 (to 1696). New York: Octagon Books, 197
online edition vol 1 to 1696
, old fashioned but highly detailed * Davies, Norman. '' God's Playground. 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