The summit will be attended by the following ministerial departments from Spain, which will hold the corresponding sector meetings at a ministerial or State secretariat level with their Polish counterparts:
Sector meetings at a ministerial level:
- Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
- Defence
- Public Works
- Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environmental Affairs
Sector meetings at a State secretariat level:
- Education (State Secretary for Education, Professional Training and Universities)
- Sport (Chairman of the National Sports Council; his Polish counterpart will be the Minister for Tourism and Sport, Witold Banka)
The following agenda has been set for the bilateral meeting between the two Heads of Government: the 40th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries; the possibilities for strengthening bilateral agreements between the two countries in the European Union, NATO and United Nations; and the strengthening of economic and cultural relations between the two countries.
It is expected that a memorandum of understanding on sport will be signed at the summit between the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport and the Polish Ministry of Tourism and Sport.
As tradition since 2009 dictates, the 12th Summit between the two countries is accompanied by a Parliamentary Forum between Poland and Spain, at which delegations from the Lower House of Parliament and the Sejm (Legislative Assembly of Poland) have examined the main topics of interest to legislative powers in the two countries.
On this occasion, the 5th Spain-Poland Parliamentary Forum took place in Krakow on Monday, 5 June. The Spanish delegation was led by the Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Ana Pastor; while the Polish delegation was led by her counterpart, Marek Kuchcinski. The topics of greatest interest to the forum were: the situation of citizens following Brexit; the role of National Parliaments in the future of the EU; the support from Poland and Spain for the European Neighbourhood Policy, both towards the east and towards the Mediterranean; and the status of Spanish as a language in the bilingual education model that exists in Poland.
Economic relations between Spain and Poland are especially positive. Bilateral trade has continued to grow in recent years. Since 2012, it has risen by 38.6% to 9.86 billion euros in 2016 thanks to the dynamic nature of both exports and imports. Spanish exports to Poland in 2016 surpassed 4.8 billion euros while Spanish imports from Poland exceeded 5 billion euros. Poland is the twelfth-largest customer and supplier for Spain.
Trade between Spain and Poland is particularly intra-industrial in nature; in other words, the two countries buy and sell the same type of products (motor vehicles, machines and mechanical equipment, and electrical equipment and material).
Spanish investment in Poland is also significant. Spain is the fifth-largest investor in the Polish market, with over 700 Spanish companies operating in Poland in numerous sectors, such as finance, information and communication technologies, construction and infrastructure, the automotive industry and energy (renewables). The Spanish investment stock in Poland exceeded 5 billion euros in 2015.
In terms of tourism, the steady increase in the number of Polish tourists visiting Spain in recent years should be noted. This figure stood at 863,457 in 2016 according to FRONTUR data, which is an increase of 16.1% on 2015. Spain now stands as the second-most popular destination for Polish tourists, second only to Greece.
In terms of economic affairs and aside from bilateral issues, Europe will also play a key role at the Warsaw Summit. In this context, the President of the Government and Prime Minister Szydlo will have an opportunity to share points of view on the future of the European project.
They will speak about the achievements made by the European project and the main challenges it now faces, such as the reforms to be implemented in response to the concerns of citizens. Special attention will be placed on further developing the Single European Market, which includes significant initiatives such as the Energy Union and the Digital Single Market, essential for guaranteeing EU competitiveness and therefore for fostering growth and jobs in Europe.
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