Once again we celebrate the National independency Day. As usual, there will be no shortage of marches, parades, festivals, patriotic picnics, or mass for the intent of the homeland. In speeches, we will be excited by patriotism and will be reminded of the glorious events in our history. There will be talk of Legions, Piłsudski, uprisings, “cursed” and fighting “commun”. All solemnly, with a full patos and a God-fathered breath. But will there be a deeper reflection on these sessions of collective exaltation? Will anyone wonder to what degree Poland is inactive a sovereign and independent state?
By independency we mean the formal independency of an internationally sanctioned state. All countries that are members of the United Nations, regardless of their territorial size, population, economical improvement and technological advancement, are considered independent. The independent states are so both China and Burkina Faso. Therefore, the concept of independency is purely façade to not say illusory. It is so better to usage the concept of sovereignty, which means that the State can take independent decisions both internally and internationally.
So let us consider whether modern Poland is simply a sovereign state? The external attributes of independency and the full patriotic banner associated with it are not adequate to answer the above question. The essence of sovereignty lies in the anticipation of forming interior and external policies independently. interior policies primarily include lawmaking and enforcement. Given the issue of government itself, it is hard to talk of any sovereignty of Poland in a situation where each law must be compatible with European law. This is straight due to the rule of the primacy of European law over national law. As a result, the Sejm is obliged to bring national law into line with EU legislation, and Polish courts must apply EU law and are obliged to guarantee its effectiveness. Is this the case, for example, in the times of the Polish People's Republic, frequently referred to as a non-divide or vassal state? In Poland, the People's Act did not should be agreed with the government of the russian Union. Even if there were common solutions within a community of socialist states, only within a circumstantial direction of development, alternatively than circumstantial rules. Even in this respect, there were derogations. For example, in the Polish reality there were individual farms, or private craft and service establishments, despite the promoted model of collective economy. On the another hand, European Union government interferes with even the smallest issues of everyday life. The problem is not imagined, as the rules imposed on the outside increasingly make life hard for citizens. For example, since 2009, it is not possible to usage mercury thermometers in the EU, since 2012 it is not possible to usage conventional bulbs above 100 W, since 2014 the power of vacuum cleaners sold in the EU must not exceed 1600 W. I've already left out the anecdotal rules on banana curvature. individual will say that we have joined the European Union voluntarily and that we should bear the consequences of this decision. Definitely. However, this does not change the fact that under the conditions of primacy of EU law over the law of the Polish Republic, it is impossible to talk about the sovereignty of Poland.
It is besides hard to talk about Poland's sovereignty within global policy. Poland is simply implementing a policy that coincides with the current guidelines of the US and Western countries, with the exception that sometimes American and European actions are missing, as is now seen in the example of a different approach to the war in Ukraine. As far as Polish-American relations are concerned, the most vivid symbol of them was the decision to install secret CIA prisons in Poland. Another example of limited sovereignty of Poland may be the actual extraterritoriality of American military bases in our country. Although formally the bases are governed by Polish law, there are in fact restrictions on the Polish authorities' access to these bases, which is due to the SOFA agreement. The question can be raised here – why, therefore, the presence of russian troops in the territory of our country was considered to be a manifestation of deficiency of sovereignty. I have already left out the silent participation of Polish soldiers in American military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although the Polish authorities formally agreed to this, it had no connection with Polish interests. likewise as with the Polish state ration, there is nothing in common about Poland's commitment to the war in Ukraine.
The question so arises, is there anything to celebrate in the current situation of Poland? Will even the biggest celebration of National independency Day increase the safety of our country? I don't think so. Today, erstwhile the threat of bringing Poland into this war is increasingly real, our patriotic work is not to support peace and to make reasonable political decisions. That's it. That's it.
Michał Radzikowski
