We have an obligation and moral duty towards our partners in the East

Photo courtesy of Jacek Sutryk / City of Wrocław

It contributes to academic and cultural exchanges. This co-operation can in the future facilitate deeper integration of the partner states with the EU. And this is something we all want. You mentioned Ukraine, which is Poland’s direct neighbour. We want to help Ukrainians succeed in their reform process. Therefore, we organise regular study tours to bring Ukrainians to Wrocław. As a result, our colleagues from Lviv, which is Wrocław’s sister city and with which we share historical ties, come to our town to learn about different aspects of city management. This includes environmental protection, health care and public transportation. I have been told that they greatly appreciate this form of co-operation.

In 2016 when Wrocław was the European Capital of Culture, we focused on the intense cultural exchange and established new contacts with Kyiv, both at the central and local governmental levels. In addition, our city also supports the publisher of your magazine, the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe, which is an institution that nourishes people-to-people relations between Poland and Eastern European states. Overall, I think that the engagement of local governments in this form of co-operation helps the revival of the European Neighbourhood Policy in its eastern dimension. Within the Eastern Partnership framework, such co-operation is much easier as it is based on very concrete activities.

In parallel with the celebrations of the ten years of the Eastern Partnership, we are commemorating 30 years since the collapse of communism in our region. How does the experience of these 30 years, also at the local level, help us in co-operation with partners in Eastern Europe?

Countries like Poland, which 30 years ago freed themselves from communism, are perceived as examples for the Eastern Partnership states. And, indeed, we have already undertaken a certain transformation path and, as a result, today our country is much more developed than it was at the beginning of the 1990s. This helps us in our co-operation with our partners in Eastern Europe. On many occasions I heard them say they would want to follow a path similar to ours, even though the differences between us are quite significant. I have also heard many people say that, in the last three years, Ukraine has done much more than it has in the last 30 years.

When I travel to Eastern Europe I often have the impression that these countries look like Poland did 10 or 15 years ago. They have already achieved so much in terms of infrastructural development and the development of the general landscape of their cities, but a lot still remains to be done. When we see these changes we want to say to them: “Do not cease in your efforts.” However, what I worry about now is that Poland has ceased to be Ukraine’s ambassador in Europe. We have to think about the common future of both our countries.

Three years ago on the pages of this magazine, we published an interview with the recently murdered mayor of Gdańsk, Paweł Adamowicz. During the conversation he said: “I remember in the 1990s when I was trained by the Germans, French, Danish and Dutch. Now, I see it as my duty to pass on this knowledge further East.” These words surely reflect the way of thinking and the value system of the generation that is represented by the late mayor. You are a representative of a younger generation of local leaders. What is your philosophy in regards to co-operation with Eastern Europe?

The legacy of Paweł Adamowicz, who was tragically murdered in January of this year, is particularly important for us local leaders. We, indeed, have an obligation and moral duty towards our partners in the East. Thus, an important motto in our co-operation with Ukraine can be found in the words of Jerzy Giedroyc, the prominent émigré publisher during the communist period. He often stressed that “there is no free Ukraine without a free Poland”. In my view, our most important task is to support these states in their efforts to build democracy and reach greater economic development. Without the Eastern Partnership we are at risk of Europe being divided into privileged states and those who are left behind. In our activities at the local level, we want to contribute to Poland’s active involvement in shaping the EU’s eastern policy. Poland’s geographic location, which has a border with Ukraine and is also an EU border, automatically puts us in a position of being an intermediary between the EU and Eastern Europe. I would like Wrocław to contribute even more to the national activities which aim at bringing our Eastern partners closer to the EU.

Wrocław indeed is a city with deeply established ties with Eastern Europe. After the Second World War it became a home to many families that came here from the Eastern territories of the Second Polish Republic. They brought with them the experience of life in the multi-cultural eastern parts of the pre-war Poland. Today, the city is inhabited by thousands of immigrants from the war-torn Ukraine. How does their presence here enrich the life of the city and change its tissue?

According to different estimates, somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 Ukrainians now live in Wrocław. This means that more than half of all foreigners in the city are from Ukraine. We are happy to see that a great majority of them quickly integrate and find work, which also strengthens our local economy. Speaking in economic terms, without them some companies would simply face serious financial problems. We are also happy to see many Ukrainian students at our universities – a majority of them also stay here after they graduate. Without a doubt in a relatively short period of time, we have become, to a large extent, a “Ukrainian” city in the European Union.

To be honest, it would be difficult to imagine Wrocław without Ukrainians. In recent years we have hosted many festivals and other events promoting Ukrainian culture and have run numerous integration programmes. And I am always impressed how well the Ukrainian residents of our city speak Polish. We hear about the many friendships and love stories, and without any doubt it is thanks to the newcomers from Eastern Europe that Wrocław is now becoming a better and more cosmopolitan city.

Looking into the future, how do you see co-operation with other local governments within Eastern European states? What can still be achieved and where are the limitations?

I am convinced that our co-operation with local governments of the EaP states will continue to flourish. There is a number of projects, especially those focusing on cultural and social issues, that we are planning to implement together with Lviv and Kyiv, as well as other EaP cities in countries such as Georgia. With all certainty, despite enforcing co-operation in cultural and social areas, we will not forget about business. It is thanks to the Ukrainian diaspora in Wrocław that we are establishing many new contacts with Ukrainians living here and in Ukraine.

And what about the limitations?

Here I see one very painful thing: Ukraine’s road to the European Union is long, uncertain and dangerous. Given that, our work is even more important.

Jacek Sutryk is the mayor of the city of Wrocław.

Iwona Reichardt is a deputy editor in chief of New Eastern Europe.