Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the current state of Anglo-Polish relations.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has a strong bilateral relationship with Poland, one that the Government is committed to strengthening even further. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has agreed with his Polish counterpart to work more closely together to enhance the relationship towards a more strategic partnership. The UK and Poland share a vision for the future of the EU and of European security including many foreign, defence and security policy priorities. We are partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and share a commitment to the security of our allies and ensuring that NATO continuously adapts to changing threats. We continue to work together to deliver the outcomes of the Wales NATO Summit as we look forward to the Warsaw Summit in July. The UK and Poland are also partners in trade; the UK is Poland’s second largest export market. There are also close historical links between our countries. Together with the President of Poland the Prime Minister was honoured to attend the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral last September to pay tribute to those who fought, including the brave Polish pilots who played a crucial role in standing up for freedom.