The Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński took part in the ceremony of unveiling a monument commemorating the Pole Henryk Sławik and the Hungarian Józef Antall, who together saved at least 5 thousand Polish Jews during World War II.
Both recipients of the Righteous Among the Nations medal were condemned to oblivion in their occupied homelands: because of their patriotism and courage, their love of freedom, and respect for the dignity of others. - They are two great heroes and two great righteous. Now we are handing them over in care to the authorities of Budapest and the Hungarian Polish community," said the Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński.
The Speaker of the Sejm and his delegation also laid flowers at the monument to the Defenders of the Przemyśl Fortress, the monument to the Martyrs of Katyn, the monument to Józef Bem, the monument to Polish solidarity and aid for Hungary during the 1956 revolution and the memorial plaque to Andrzej Przewoźnik.
After the unveiling of the monument, Marshal Kuchciński, asked by the press about the priorities of the Visegrad Group, said that one of the most important plans for cooperation in the parliamentary dimension is the creation of the V4 Parliamentary Assembly. - Poland is ready, Hungary is ready, Slovakia is still delicately thinking about it, we are waiting for the elections in the Czech Republic in September. We hope that the new authorities in the Czech parliament will decide quickly and that we will be able to establish the assembly in the next few months,' said the Speaker of the Sejm. - Currently, the EU Affairs Committee and a few other committees are cooperating well, but all this is not enough," the Speaker added.
The Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, László Kövér, announced that Hungary will continue the work started by Poland during its V4 presidency, which begins on 1 July. He stressed that it is also important for practical reasons. - This form of cooperation facilitates and accelerates the exchange of information, as well as the establishment of common points of view on issues that are most important in the European Union, such as the future of the EU, relations between national parliaments, national parliaments and EU authorities.
He also announced that Hungary will put emphasis on strengthening Visegrad cooperation in the regional, EU and global context and will focus on increasing the V4's competitiveness in the digital field.
Asked about the importance of the U.S. President's visit to Poland, Kuchciński said that he perceives it as an indication that this part of Europe needs strengthening also in terms of security, cooperation in terms of security - from the Balkans to the Adriatic Sea. - I think that one of the elements will be the support for the idea of Tri-City, for economic development, not only political cooperation - said Kuchciński. According to the Marshal, the second element of the visit will be pointing out that Europe, in order to develop peacefully and ensure security and peace to all citizens, and in geopolitical terms to the whole world, must be stable and have certainty that security is assured here. - Cooperation with the Americans and the North Atlantic Alliance is a guarantee of that - he assured.
Kuchcinski also said he was "cautiously optimistic" about V4 members' divergence with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Asked if he thought the Visegrad Group would manage to remain cohesive in the face of this disagreement, he replied: - From the parliamentary perspective we have the advantage that parliamentary diplomacy is soft power, soft diplomacy. We can do more, we can explore less explored and more difficult areas, always thinking of the common good of our countries and the entire Visegrad Group in the context of the EU's prosperity.
