On May 27, 1997, a Sejm delegation headed by Marshal Józef Zych stayed in Vilnius, where it held talks with Lithuanian politicians on the establishment of a Polish- Lithuanian Assembly of Deputies.
During the meeting, Marshal Józef Zych and Seimas Marshal Vytautas Landsbergis initialled the charter of the Assembly.
The idea of setting up the joint parliamentary body was advanced by Landsbergis during his address to the Sejm on February 21, 1997. In his opinion, the Assembly should contribute to a faster admission of Poland and Lithuania to the EU and NATO and to closer friendship between the two nations. The Polish delegation came to Vilnius with a ready draft of the by- laws of the Assembly, which is to be set up on the strength of resolutions of the two parliaments. According to the by-laws, the Assembly is to issue statements, declarations, resolutions and appeals addressed to the Sejm and the Seimas as well as to the international community.
After his meeting with Landsbergis, Zych said that the Polish-Lithuanian Assembly of Deputies should be established before August 1. Marshal Zych is to propose to the Sejm Presidium that the House examine a draft resolution establishing the Assembly on June 10. Then the Sejm will select 20 deputies to represent Poland on the 40-member body. Its first sitting could be held between June 15 and August 1.
The following communique was issued after the meeting:
"The Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and the Chairman of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, meeting in private and together with the accompanying delegations, discussed the texts of the resolutions on the establishment of the Assembly of Deputies to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and agreed on the procedure of setting up the Assembly of Deputies to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
"The Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and the Chairman of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania decided to approach the parliaments of the two countries with proposals for the adoption of resolutions on the establishment of the Assembly of Deputies to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania at the nearest sittings of the Sejm and the Seimas, between June 10 and 12. After the adoption of these resolutions, delegations from the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania to the Assembly of Deputies will be appointed."
Sejm Marshal Józef Zych also met with Lithuanian President Algirdas Brazauskas, who spoke with appreciation about the idea of setting up the Assembly.
The discussion during that meeting focused on Polish-Lithuanian relations and on joint efforts to join the EU and on the problem of enlargement of NATO.
Zych also held a meeting with C. Jursenas, chairman of the Lithuanian Democratic Labour Party caucus. Although it is an opposition party, in generally supports the idea of setting up the Assembly of Deputies.
The 2nd Polish-Austrian Parliamentary Forum was held in Cracow from May 23 to 25.
The debates were attended by Sejm Marshal Józef Zych and Nationalrat Chairman Heinz Fischer, who had come up with the initiative for this form of contacts and cooperation between parliaments, and by foreign ministers of the two countries Dariusz Rosati and Wolfgang Scheussel, as well as by ambassadors Jan Barcz and Peter Pramberger. The organisers also invited Poland's former foreign minister and former ambassador to Austria, Władysław Bartoszewski, to attend the Forum.
On behalf of President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Marshal Zych presented the Commander's Cross with a Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland to Heinz Fischer.
In the citation, Zych emphasised Fischer's merits to the development of bilateral relations, including parliamentary contacts, and described him as a friend of Poland.
As he opened the debates, the Sejm Marshal referred to the first Forum, which was held in Vienna in April 1996. It was devoted to bilateral relations and the policy of European integration and security and it demonstrated the need to continue this kind of meetings. He added that the planned topics of the Cracow meeting indicated that both sides were taking a creative approach to the problems appearing in the closing years of the century.
For Poland, it is very important to learn about Austria's experience from the period preceding its admission to the EU and that ensuing from its current status of Union member. Zych went on to emphasise that the Austrian parliament was showing understanding and the desire to help Poland in the process of its integration with the EU.
The Forum debates focused on economic cooperation, both from the bilateral angle and from the point of view of Austria's membership of the EU and of Poland's efforts to secure admission to that group. On the second day of the debates, the two foreign ministers laid the groundwork for a discussion of the "Architecture of European security and European integration. The problems of stereotypes in mutual relations were discussed at a round table, with the participation of journalists.
On May 21, Sejm Marshal Józef Zych received the visiting Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam, Vo Van Kiet.
The main topic of the exchange were the principles and priorities of Vietnam's foreign policy. Vo Van Kiet also informed Zych about the present socio-political situation in Vietnam. He said that his country was pursuing a policy of opening up to the world and was in favour of regional integration.
The Vietnamese Premier was also received by Senate Deputy Marshal Grzegorz Kurczuk.
On May 22, Sejm Marshal Józef Zych received a delegation from the European Human Rights Tribunal in Strasbourg.
Zych discussed with the delegates the provisions of the new Constitution dealing with the role and position of the Constitutional Tribunal and positively assessed its cooperation with the Sejm so far. He also presented the current Sejm work on the penal code and the labour code.
Other topics included the importance of the European Human Rights Tribunal and its impact on democratic processes in Europe.
Members of the delegation emphasised that their visit was the first one they were paying to Poland or to any country recently admitted to the Council of Europe, which was a sign of appreciation of Poland's importance on the international arena.
A delegation from the Defence Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Hungary, headed by its chairman Imre Mecs, stayed in Poland from May 20 to 22. The delegation was accompanied by the Hungarian ambassador to Poland Gabor Hars.
The delegation paid a courtesy call to Sejm Marshal Józef Zych.
The delegation held talks with the Sejm Defence Committee, headed by its chairman Jerzy Szmajdziński (SLD).
The two sides talked mainly about NATO enlargement and civilian control over the armed forces. They pointed to the need of working meetings of Polish and Hungarian parliamentary delegations, joined by a Czech delegation, attended if necessary by representatives of defence and foreign ministries and of military staffs.
The Hungarian delegation also met with the Polish-Hungarian Parliamentary Group. It also had meetings at the Defence Ministry, the General Staff, and visited an army unit at Wesola near Warsaw.
On May 21, 1997, Sejm Marshal Józef Zych received a courtesy call from Zoran Novakovic, the newly appointed ambassador of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Poland.
On the same day, Zych received the new French ambassador to Poland, Benoit d'Aboville.
Zych also received on that day Andrzej Olszówka, the newly appointed Polish ambassador to Kenya.
On May 22, Zych received a courtesy call from Lubomir Volenik, chairman of the Supreme Control Office of the Czech Republic.
On May 23, Sabah Yassin, chairman of the Iraqi-Polish Friendship Society, paid a courtesy visit to Sejm Deputy Marshal Aleksander Malachowski.
ATTENTION !!!
The Polish and English text of the new Polish Constitution, passed by the National Assembly on April 2, 1997 and endorsed on May 25 in the national referendum, can now be found on the Sejm's Web site http://www.sejm.gov.pl.