Since 2004 almost 1 million Poles have settled in the UK – workers who have gained a reputation for their politeness and hard work. However it is essential that we all recognise that for them Brexit has become a time of uncertainty which needs to end quickly.
The British Government has proposed that an agreement to protect the mutual rights of EU and British nationals living abroad is enacted ahead of the formal negotiations but this has not been accepted by the EU, so the uncertainty remains.
Given our common history I would urge people to request the Polish Government to support this proposal and to also encourage the EU to negotiate a mutually beneficial trade deal which includes a reciprocal visa arrangement which will allow more Poles in the future to work in Britain.
A free and prosperous Britain and EU is in all our interests. Let your voice be heard.
I am a British citizen and would like to speak to the people of Poland about a subject we both hold dear: freedom. In 1939 Poland was first to fight against the Nazi Blitzkrieg but, unlike every other occupied country, never surrendered. 400,000 soldiers in the Home Army continued the fight, providing 48% of all allied intelligence from occupied Europe. In 1944 the Warsaw Uprising was the largest insurrection against the fascists. A further 250,000 escaped to Britain to fight for our freedom when we were alone. Polish pilots in 303 Squadron shot down more Luftwaffe aircraft than any other in the Battle of Britain. My father, Captain Stefan Moszynski, Virtuti Militari, served in the 1st Polish Armoured Division where after defending Britain’s shores he fought to liberate France, Belgium and Holland. Yet in 1945 Poland was not free and after six years of war he was unable to return home as Stalin had killed or sent to Siberia most of his family. Britain, almost bankrupt after the war, nonetheless provided a home to him and another 200,000 Poles as the Iron Curtain descended across Europe. Freedom for Poland came too late for my father as he died in London in 1971, but his dream and that of every Pole never died. After years of further struggle, Poland finally witnessed free elections again on this day in 1989 and in 2003 voted to join the EU. Last year Britain had a vote about the EU but this time the British people decided to leave. It was not an issue of being anti-European but that we did not wish to be governed by an increasingly autocratic bureaucracy which is unaccountable to the will of the people. No monetary union in history has survived without political union and that is the direction the EU is determined to go and which the British people rejected. We saw how an unelected EU elite removed a democratically elected Italian President and what being shackled to the Euro did to the Greek economy. (I therefore personally hope that Poland continues its fight to retain the Złoty.) Since 2004 a new army of almost 1 million Poles settled in the UK – workers who have gained a reputation for their politeness and hard work. However it is essential that we all recognise that for them Brexit has become a time of uncertainty which needs to end quickly. The British Government has proposed that an agreement to protect the mutual rights of EU and British nationals living abroad is enacted ahead of the formal negotiations but this has not been accepted by the EU, so the uncertainty remains. Given our common history I would like to urge the people of Poland to ask your Government to support this proposal and to also encourage the EU to negotiate a mutually beneficial trade deal which includes a reciprocal visa arrangement which will allow more Poles in the future to work in Britain. The times and nature of the threats we are facing may have changed but I truly believe for the British and Polish people our common desire to maintain our freedom has not. A free and prosperous Britain EU is in all our interests. Let our voices be heard. For your freedom and ours: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. MichaelMoszynski@gmail.com
