Last Thursday, the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Polish Parliament gave a positive opinion regarding the candidacy of Piotr Wilczek as Poland’s new Ambassador to the UK. 

During his official hearing in front of the Committee, he had the opportunity to share his thoughts about his new position.

“During the last 5 years as Poland’s Ambassador in the United States, I participated in numerous activities aiming at strengthening  Polish-American relations. I was also able to observe closely the relations between the US and the UK (…) I followed closely the whole process which led to the UK leaving the EU from 2016,” he explained. 

“What conclusions can be drawn from the events of the last few years? First, despite the turmoil associated with Brexit, it is still a global power. The slogans ‘Global Britain’ or ‘Britain goes global’ (…) are not only slogans but reflect the real role of one of the world’s greatest powers and economic powers. Secondly, Brexit is a fact and means the necessity to redefine the place of Great Britain in Europe and the world, and to reorganize relations with the EU and bilateral relations with individual European and non-European countries,” he added. 

He concluded by stating that he counts on  “good cooperation with people and organisations that have been involved in Polish-British cooperation for years and using their knowledge and experience”

Piotr Wilczek graduated from the Faculty of Philology at the University of Silesia in Katowice. Since 2008, he has been a professor at the „Artes Liberales” Department of the University of Warsaw, where he headed the Center for Research on Reformation and Intellectual Culture in Early Modern Europe. 

In October 2016, he became Poland’s Ambassador to the US and the Bahamas. He started his duties in November of the same year. In 2020, he was awarded the prize of the Minister of Foreign Affairs „Amicus Oeconomiae” for a special contribution to the promotion of the Polish economy and support for Polish entrepreneurs abroad.

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen

Picture: Twitter @AmbWilczek