Preparations for Polish presidency in the Council of the European Union are in the final stretch. Employers of Poland and our members can still play an important role in this process. On January 1, 2025, for the second time in the history of EU membership, Poland will take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. On one hand, this is a time of danger due to Russian aggression, uncertainty regarding Europe's role in the escalating US-China rivalry, and the questioning (often justifiably) of long-standing paradigms of EU policy, led by the Green Deal. On the other hand, it is an opportunity for Poland to play a significant role. After resolving conflicts with the European Commission, we have an easier path to approach the decision-making level of the Union. Our position will be strengthened by the fact that we will assume the presidency at the beginning of the new term of the European Commission and the European Parliament, and after the Hungarian presidency, which already raised controversies in its early weeks due to Viktor Orbán's self-proclaimed "peace mission" to Russia and China.
To properly utilize the presidency, we need greater confidence in our agency in Brussels. On behalf of Employers of Poland, we are coordinating matters related to membership in SGI Europe. This is a social partner of the European Commission, one of three representative business organizations involved in social dialogue at the EU level. We regularly visit Brussels and meet with Poles representing their institutions at the EU forum. There are opinions that Poland is unable to effectively push its own agenda, especially when competing with countries significantly more experienced in EU institutions. However, we believe that Poland no longer has any reason to feel inferior. While during our first presidency in 2011 we had reasons to feel like a second-class member in terms of economic development and living standards, now we assume the presidency from a position of a country rapidly catching up in developmental differences. In some aspects, like digitization, the "old Union" can learn from us. We implement this belief within SGI Europe, where in task teams traditionally dominated by representatives from France, Germany, or Italy, we increase representation selected from members of Employers of Poland. More and more of them want to participate in key task teams regarding the future of the EU, such as water, transport, energy, and environmental protection. In the transport team and the communications team (which deals with regulations regarding AI), representatives of Employers of Poland have taken on the roles of vice-chairs.
Polish presidency in the Council of the European Union is an opportunity for Employers of Poland to showcase the activity of their experts and members. The first chance for this was during the stage of formulating the presidency priorities. Each country taking over the presidency presents key areas it wants to focus on or goals it wants to achieve. It is worth emphasizing that the priorities must be attractive to all citizens of the Union and unite the interests of all member states. The presidency is a time to present oneself as an honest mediator prioritizing the interests of the Community over one's own. The preparation of the list of priorities was handled in our organization by the advisory team to the president of Employers of Poland for EU affairs, international relations, and foreign trade, chaired by Prof. Artur Nowak-Fara.
After two months of working sessions, we proposed the following list:
1. Health
2. European Skills Management
3. Reconstruction of Ukraine
4. Competitive economy based on AI and environmentally friendly
5. Increasing defense capabilities
The proposals for priorities from Employers of Poland were officially presented at a meeting on March 12 with Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, who is responsible in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister for preparations for the presidency.
However, the opportunities for participating in the preparations for Poland's presidency do not end there. In the second half of the year, individual ministries will develop so-called sectoral priorities, focusing on their own matters in the context of Poland's presidency in the Council of the EU. Meetings held in ministries, the Sejm, and the Senate clearly indicate that the government is open to the participation of Employers of Poland in co-creating sectoral priorities. We will take advantage of this opportunity by organizing roundtable meetings. Representatives of ministries, experts, and members of Employers of Poland will exchange concepts for sectoral priorities and key areas in the presidency. At the end of the preparations, we plan to hold a meeting in December at the headquarters of the European Economic and Social Committee, during which the final priorities will be discussed.