Estonia–Poland relations
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Estonia–Poland relations are the
bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...
between Estonia and Poland. Both nations are members of the EU, NATO, OECD, OSCE, Bucharest Nine, TSI, United Nations, COE, CBSS, HELCOM and
WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
. The two countries became members of the EU in 2004.


History


Early history

Estonia, then part of Livonia, was incorporated into the territory of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which become Duchy of Livonia under Polish rule. The Livonian War further secured Polish authority, having halted Russian attempt to conquer the region. Lajs (modern Laiuse, Estonia) was the seat of northernmost
starostwo Starostwo (literally " eldership") ; be, староства, translit=starostva; german: Starostei is an administrative unit established from the 14th century in the Polish Crown and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the part ...
of Poland, whereas Dorpat (Tartu) and Parnawa (Pärnu) were the northernmost voivodeship capitals of Poland. Livonia did not hold any significant position in the Commonwealth's history since it was divided between the Poles, Swedes and Danes; as for its remoteness outside tax incomes, and this would remain until both fell into the hand of the Russian Empire. The still-used flag of
Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
, the second-largest city of Estonia, was granted to the city by Polish King Stephen Báthory in 1584. It closely resembles the flag of Poland. Under the Russian rule however, Livonia, and later Estonia, was seen to be the least oppressed under the rule of tsarist Russia and received a nominal level of autonomy, notably the rise of Orthodox Christianity; however,
Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
and later Russian Poland did not receive similar sympathy, and was under complete oppression led by the Russian Imperial government. Nonetheless, in 1905, unrests in Russia became widespread and it hit to Estonia and Poland. For the Estonians, their major opponent was not the Russians but the Germans at the time, but since the Germans were given privileges in Russia, anti-German unrest in Estonia aimed directly against tsarist authoritarian rule. For the Poles, the Russians and Germans were both common oppressors, also rose up against both.


Interbellum and World War II

After the end of World War I, both Estonia and Poland regained independence. However, increasing invasions from the Bolsheviks put two nations into one common front against the Soviet Russians. Estonia was not able to repel the Soviets, but Polish success in the Polish–Soviet War helped both to keep their independence. From 1920s, Poland and Estonia were allies, though there was little contact between them. In 1922, Poland and Estonia were among signatories of the
Warsaw Accord The Warsaw Accord was signed on 17 March 1922 by Finland, Poland, Estonia and Latvia, but failure by the Parliament of Finland to ratify it made it never enter into force. Accord summary The states agreed not to enter any other treaties to disad ...
, which however did not enter into force, as its other signatory Finland did not ratify it under pressure of Germany, which was hostile to Poland. Instead, in 1925, Poland and Estonia together with Finland and
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
signed a convention on
conciliation Conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process whereby the parties to a dispute use a conciliator, who meets with the parties both separately and together in an attempt to resolve their differences. They do this by lowering te ...
and
arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...
in Helsinki. A trade and navigation treaty was signed between Estonia and Poland in Tallinn in 1927. In 1937–1938, both ethnic Poles and Estonians in the Soviet Union were subjected to
genocidal Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
campaigns carried out by the NKVD, known as the '' Polish Operation'' and the '' Estonian Operation'' respectively. Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Poland and Estonia were both invaded and occupied during World War II. Poland was
occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union since September 1939, while Estonia was
occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
solely by the Soviet Union since June 1940. Both nations were under common oppression, and many Poles and Estonians were forcefully deported by the Russians to Siberia. In the course of Operation Barbarossa, from mid-1941, both countries were entirely occupied by Germany. In 1942, Polish Prime Minister-in-Exile Władysław Sikorski's intervention to British and American authorities thwarted Soviet attempts to obtain Allied approval for the planned annexation of Estonia and eastern Poland. Both Poles and Estonians were among the prisoners of the Nazi German Sonnenburg concentration camp in Słońsk, and Estonian conscripts from the Soviet Red Army, alike Polish POWs and civilians were among the prisoners of the Stalag II-B German prisoner-of-war camp in Czarne. In 1944–1945, both countries were again occupied by Soviet forces. Soviet repressions and deportations of both Estonian and Polish citizens continued. Poland's formal independence was eventually restored, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, while Estonia was annexed into the Soviet Union, thus both had no relationship until the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
.


Today

With both Estonia and Poland freed from Soviet oppression, two countries reestablished ties in 1991. Since 1991, trades and cooperation between Estonia and Poland had increased dramatically, turning them into economic and political partnership. Estonia considers Poland as its priority on their relations. Both Estonia and Poland are members of NATO and the European Union. Their relations have enjoyed a significant boost since 2000s. The threat from Russia, which increased under Vladimir Putin, has also prompted two countries to set closer tie together against a common foe. April 12, 2010, was declared a day of national mourning in Estonia to commemorate the 96 victims of the Smolensk air disaster, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński and his wife
Maria Kaczyńska Maria Helena Kaczyńska (; ; 21 August 1942 – 10 April 2010) was the First Lady of Poland from 2005 to 2010 as the wife of President Lech Kaczyński. She and her husband died in the plane crash in the Russian city of Smolensk. Early and per ...
. There is a small dispute between Estonia and Poland over desynchronisation, which Poland was reluctant to establish the AC link to Estonia. The
Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...
takes part in the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission to guard the airspace over the Baltic states including Estonia. In 2021, Prime Minister of Estonia
Kaja Kallas Kaja Kallas (; born 18 June 1977) is an Estonian politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Estonia since 2021. The leader of the Reform Party since 2018, she was a Member of Parliament from 2019 to 2021, and previously between 2 ...
named Poland a key ally of Estonia. Poland and Estonia co-hosted the
2021 Men's European Volleyball Championship The 2021 Men's European Volleyball Championship was the 32nd edition of the Men's European Volleyball Championship, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, CEV. For the second time, the EuroVolley was held in four countries: Poland, Czec ...
. In November 2021, during the Belarus–European Union border crisis, Estonia decided to send 100 troops from the Estonian Defence Forces to help Poland. From December 2021-April 2022, Estonian soldiers arrived in Poland and helped build bridges, barbed wire fences, reinforced roads, and other border barriers along the Polish-Belarusian border during the Wisent joint military exercise. In 2022, Estonian and Polish gas grids were connected, following the commissioning of the GIPL interconnection, also providing Estonia with a connection to the EU gas market. The
Rail Baltica Rail Baltica (also known as Rail Baltic in Estonia) is a high-speed railway under construction between Warsaw, Poland and Tallinn, Estonia, with further connections to Finland via Baltic Sea cruiseferries or the proposed Helsinki–Tallinn Tunne ...
and
Via Baltica European route E 67 is an E-road running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Estonia and by ferry to Finland. It goes via Prague, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki. The route is known as the Via Baltica ...
, modern rail and road links of vital importance, connecting Estonia with Poland and Central Europe, remain under construction (as of 2022). Poland and Estonia played EURO 2024 play-off semi-final on March 21, 2024. Estonia's last gasp chance to make the UEFA European Championships football finals in Germany later this summer were decisively laid to rest in Warsaw as the Estonian team went down 5:1 at the Narodowy Stadium.


List of Estonian ambassadors to Poland and accredited to Romania and Bulgaria

* Miko Haljas (2024-present) * Martin Roger (2018-2024) * Harri Tiido (2014-2018) * Eerik Marmei (2013-2014) *
Taavi Toom Taavi Toom (born on 7 September 1970 in Tartu) is an Estonian diplomat. In 1993 he graduated from University of Tartu with a degree in law. Since 1994 he has worked for the Estonian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia ...
(2009-2014) * Aivo Orav (2005-2009)


List of Polish ambassadors to Estonia

*
Grzegorz Kozłowski Grzegorz Kozłowski (born 31 March 1974, Warsaw) is a Polish diplomat and economist who served an ambassador of Poland to Estonia between 2018 and 2023. Life Grzegorz Kozłowski has graduated from law at the University of Białystok (1998) ...
(2018-present)


Resident diplomatic missions

* Estonia has an embassy in Warsaw. * Poland has an embassy in Tallinn. File:Ambasada Estonii w Warszawie (ul. Bzowa 21).jpg, Embassy of Estonia in Warsaw File:Pangahoone Suur-Karja t.1.jpg, Embassy of Poland in Tallinn


See also

*
Foreign relations of Estonia The Republic of Estonia gained its independence from the Russian Empire on 24 February 1918 and established diplomatic relations with many countries via membership of the League of Nations. The forcible incorporation of Estonia into the Soviet Un ...
* Foreign relations of Poland


References


External links


Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tallinn

Embassy of Estonia, Warsaw
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estonia-Poland relations Poland Bilateral relations of Poland Relations of colonizer and former colony