PROVOCĂRI LA ADRESA SECURITĂŢII ŞI STRATEGIEI LA ÎNCEPUTUL SECOLULUI XXI

Treaty. Their additional purpose is to protect the Polish interests and to build
Poland’s position on NATO and the European Union.
Poland performs its security policy according to the Constitution of
the Republic of Poland with respect to the international law, according to the
objectives and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and
documents of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), as well as according to the spirit and letter of international treaties
and conventions which it is a party. Treating its borders as unalterable,
Poland has no territorial claims, and has relations regulated by treaties with
all its neighbours.
Poland doesn’t intend to strengthen its own security at the expense
of security of others. In its activities on the arena of international politics
Poland follows the values, ideals and principles contained in the North
Atlantic Treaty and European Union Treaties, in order to realise the vision
of free and democratic Europe where security, prosperity and favorable
conditions for cultural development and maintenance of identity constitute
the common and indivisible good of the uniting continent 3 . Poland strictly
connects its security with the security of NATO countries and members of
the European Community. Poland fulfils its own security interest mostly in
the frame of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance system of cooperation and
solidarity, by supporting international efforts aimed to strengthen the
security in Europe and throughout the world, to protect the basic human
right. Poland supports the idea that the use of force on the international
arena should be limited exclusively to exercising the right for self-defence,
as provided in the United Nations Charter, or in the context of operations
carried out on the basis of international community mandate. At the same
time, Poland is willing to strongly oppose all those who show aggression
and break the human rights. While addressing the essence of my
presentation I would like to concentrate myself on the primary documents
dealing with the issues of security and defence of the Republic of Poland –
the National Security Strategy and the Military Strategy.
National Security Strategy
After the meeting of the National Security Council in September 8 th
2003, the President of the RP signed the National Security Strategy of the
Republic of Poland adopted by Polish Government in July 22 nd . It took
place just 3 years after the adoption of the previous National Security
Strategy by the Government in January 2000.
3
J. Gryz „Zagrozenia bezpieczenstwa Rzeczypospolitej” In System bezpieczenstwa
Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, edited by R. Kulczycki, AON Warszawa 2004, Vol. I, 6-7.
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The National Security Strategy is the document that specifies the
goals and directions of all State institutions’ activities in the national
security area 4 . The strategy not only identifies the main threats to Poland,
but it also lists the tasks of different state institutions responsible for the
security of the Republic of Poland. What is particularly worth emphasising
is that the new strategy does not limit the goals of the security policy to the
issues related to the sovereignty and territorial integrity. Security is treated
much broader. Therefore, in the last chapter of the document, economical
bases of security are considered.
We can read that today, Poland finds itself in particularly
favourable security environment. The threat of a considerable military
conflict in Europe almost disappeared. However, we should realise the
nature of security environment is changeable. In fact, one of such significant
changes in our security policy is a shift of emphasis from the classical
threats such as an armed invasion that decrease in importance, towards the
unconventional, often unpredictable threats that derive from hardly
identifiable non-state entities. The line of the distinction between the
external and internal security aspects becomes blurred, and the new
character and scale of threats appeared such as terrorism, an uncontrolled
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of their delivery, an
organised international crime – both in character such as trafficking of arms,
dangerous materials, persons and drugs, and in term of modus operandi such
as corruption, money washing, financial system destabilisation. As a result,
the need of a new approach to security issues is required.
Polish national security policy is characterised by invariability of
the goals and principles on the one hand, however, it is flexible to the new
challenges on the other hand. It refers to the protection of Poland’s
sovereignty, independence, inviolability of borders, and territorial integrity.
It also refers to the security of the citizens, human rights, fundamental
freedoms, democratic order, stable conditions for Poland’s civilisational and
economic progress, human well-being, protection of national heritage and
national identity, implementation of the alliance commitments, as well as to
the protection and promotion of Polish interests. In the long term, the status
of the State’s security will depend on how it copes with the complex
challenges that call for measures going beyond the conventional instruments
and methods of the security strategy. Mainly it refers to economic,
environmental and human problems.
The new challenges in the security area necessitate the complex
approach, as the line of distinction between the external and internal security
4 http://www.spo.wp.mil.pl and PPT presentation by the MoND of the Republic of Poland
(Defence Policy Department).
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