History of the Forum in pdf - Economic Forum

History of the Forum 

96 


The political and economic transformations which started in 1989 changed the 

geography of the whole Europe. 

New times and new circumstances created new challenges. New countries 

were established and democratic systems were born in them. Civic institutions and 

organisations were formed. The East was opening up. 

A forum for dialogue, exchange of experience and contact proved to be a highly 

necessary initiative. This is how the Poland- East Economic Forum came into existence. 

The beginnings of the forum date back to 1992 and a meeting of about 100 people 

interested in promoting political relations and, primarily, economic exchange with 

the East. Krynica Zdrój became the place for organisation of subsequent meetings. 

Ever since the beginning of the Economic Forum 

in Krynica several key persons in Polish 

politics and representatives of the Polish economy 

have been connected with it, including Jerzy 

Buzek, Lech Wałęsa, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Marek 

Belka, Leszek Miller, Józef Oleksy, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Walz, 

Leszek Balcerowicz, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, 

Marian Krzaklewski, Stanisław Ciosek, Jacek Kuroń, 

Grzegorz Kołodko, Paweł Olechnowicz, Jerzy Tomaszewski, 

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Bronisław Geremek, 

and Maciej Płażyński.

Bronisław Geremek; Jarosław Kaczyński; Maciej Płażyński 

They would come here as Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Ministers but also 

before they attained these positions, or just after finishing their term in office. 

In Krynica we can also meet Leopold Unger, Bohdan Osadczuk, or Jerzy 

Pomianowski. In Poland governments may change but the interest in the Forum 

remains. The form of the meeting and the discussed issues act as a magnet to Krynica. 

For each new government and for each new opposition the Forum becomes 

an important arena for the exchange of opinions on many topics, starting from global 

challenges, through reforms of particular sectors of the country and companies’ 

strategies, to accession to the European Union. 

The Forum is a special place for arriving at a concept for cooperation with the 

East, for providing aid for institutions and reforms, for supporting civic society 

structures, and for 

shaping Polish Eastern policy. 

Krynica is visited by politicians 

and entrepreneurs 

from the East - from Belorus, 

Ukraine, Moldova, and Russia. 

The Forum in Krynica has 

become an attractive and 

important place also for regional 

European policy. Krynica 

is ever-more frequently 

visited by Valdasa Adamkus, 

President of Lithuania, who 

came here for the first time 

Leopold Unger, Leszek Balcerowicz 

in the year 2000. At that 

www.economic-forum.pl 


97


98 

Anatoliy Kinakh; Leszek Miller; Józef Oleksy 

time Krynica was also visited by Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine. In the 

next year Antatoliy Kinakh was the Prime Minister of Ukraine and he also attended. 

In 2001, at the invitation of Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Viktor Orbán and Mikulasz 

Dziurinda arrived in Krynica. The Forum is an official meeting for heads of the Visegrád 

Group. In 2002 the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Vladimir Spidla, and 

Prime Minister Leszek Miller met in Krynica. 

Jose Maria Aznar, Prime Minister of Spain, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland (1995-2005)

Meeting of Prime Ministers of Wyshegrad Group in Krynica: Mikulas Dziurinda, Prime Minister of 

Slovak Republic; Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary; Jerzy Buzek, Prime Minister of Poland, 

Milos Zeman, Prime Minister of Czech Republic 

The end of the millennium was a period filled with intensive preparations for 

Poland’s accession to the NATO structures and to the European Union. Accession-related 

issues started to dominate Forum discourse, which was devoted 

to the internal reforms in Poland, adapting to the EU standards, the fears and doubts 

connected with the adaptation process and EU membership, and the coordination 

of activities of the countries joining the European Union. 

Forum 

the of 

Viktor Yanukovych, Prime Minister of Ukraine 

Jarosław Kaczyński, Prime Minister of Poland History 


99


100 

Lech Wałęsa, Marian Krzaklewski, Grzegorz Kołodko 

At that time the agenda of debates in Krynica was expanding to encompass 

a few dozen debates. In 2001 there were already over 1,000 guests at the Forum 

in Krynica. The Forum became an important event in Poland and Central 

and Eastern Europe. In the year 2000 the leading topic of the Forum became a decade 

of experience regarding Polish transformation. In 2001 the Forum focused on 

not dividing Europe. At that time the accession plans of Central European countries 

connected with the European Union and an evident lack of reforms and accession 

prospects for some of the countries from the former USSR gave rise to fears regarding 

a new division of the continent. It turned out that the division became evermore 

permanent and deeper. In 2001 the Forum agenda included 40 debates. 

Meeting of Presidents in Krynica 

Boris Trajkovski, President of Macedonia, Zygmunt Berdychowski, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of 

Poland, Ion Iliescu, President of Romania; Stjepan Mesić, President of Croatia

Mikhail Saakaszwili, President of Georgia 

Dalia Grybauskaite, European Commissioner for Financial Programming & the Budget, Lithuania 

In the year 2002 the Forum hosted around 1,300 participants from around 20 

countries and its agenda included 50 debates. 

The thirteenth edition of the Forum 

in the year 2003 took place when 

most of the countries from our region 

had already joined the European 

Union. Forum participants wondered 

whether the expansion of the European 

Union was the first or the last stage of integration. 

In over 60 discussion panels, 5 

plenary sessions and several promotional 

meetings around 1,300 people from 35 

countries took part, among others were 

President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Ion 

Iliescu, President of Romania, Boris Trajkovski, 

President of Macedonia, Stjepan 

Mesić, President of Croatia, Prime Minister 

Leszek Miller, and Mikulás Dzurinda, Prime 

Minister of Slovakia. 

Viviane Reding, European Commissioner 

for Information Society and Media, Luxemburg 



101


102 

Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary, Department of State, USA 

Marek Belka, Prime Minister of Poland 

Vaclav Havel, former President Czech Republic 

Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former President of Poland 

Now, the Forum has turned into a three-day-long event. A rich programme 

of accompanying artistic events featuring concerts by popular artists and 

groups, and exhibitions and film screenings has become tradition. After 

days filled with intense opinion exchange, Forum participants meet in the evenings 

at receptions, dinners and promotional evenings. It is a great way to present one’s 

product range, to invite cooperation or make sales, and also to talk, make friends or 

consolidate relations. 

In the year 2004 the Forum attracted over 1,500 participants from 40 countries 

who took part in almost 100 discussion panels, thematic sessions and promotional 

meetings. Among the participants of the debates there were Presidents 

Valdas Adamkus and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, and Prime Minister Marek Belka. A 

great event at the Forum was the arrival of representatives of Arabic countries (mostly 

from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Irak, Yemen, Jordania, and Tunisia) interested 

in cooperation with Poland and, more broadly, with Central and Eastern Europe. 

Danuta Hübner, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Poland

Roland Dumas, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France 

The meetings in Krynica have accompanied all the changes in the region and 

have been devoted to the most important topics that Europe is facing. History 

shapes the present form of the Forum but it also has its share in shaping the 

history of Europe, particularly in the history of integration of our part of the continent. 

The year 2005 was the first year after the great expansion of the European 

Union. Before that date European integration was a goal but the Forum in 2005 was 

the first opportunity for making summaries and asking bold questions about the 

future. The motto of the Forum in 2005 was „European Challenges: The Model and 

Ludwik Sobolewski, President of the Management Board & CEO, Warsaw Stock Exchange, Poland 

Gunther Verheugen, Vice-President and European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, Germany 

Petro Poroshenko, Head of the Council, National Bank of Ukraine 



103


104 

Boundaries of Europe.” Around 1,500 members from over 40 countries took part in 

the fifteenth Economic Forum. The sixteenth Economic Forum was devoted to European 

identity, which was discussed in the context of integration processes taking 

place in the European Union and what was going on around the European Union. 

In that year among the Forum participants there were EU Commissioners Viviane 

Reding and Dalia Grybauskaite, and Prime Ministers of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, 

Jarosław Kaczyński, Gedyminas Kirkilas, Viktor Yanukovych. About 1,800 guests 

from over 50 countries came to take part in the Forum, the agenda of which consisted 

of about 140 debates divided into 10 thematic categories. The presence of EU 

Commissioners became a permanent element of the Forum. 

The expansion of the European Union has always been a controversial issue. 

It turned out to be a great triumph for the idea of a common Europe, which, 

building on some commonly achieved rules and values, created a common 

space for freedom and trust. However, there were ever-more fears and suspicions 

within the EU itself, a good example of which was the case of the Constitutional Treaty 

of the European Union and its rejection by France and the Netherlands in 2005. 

It forced everybody to reflect on the shape of European integration and, in broader 

circles, the idea appeared that countries were tired of integration and that Europe 

was going through a crisis. The seventeenth Economic Forum was devoted to the 

crisis in the context of changes and opportunities. The list of the prominent Forum 

guests was expanded with EU Commissioners Danuta Hübner, Dalia Grybauskaite, 

and Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs in the 

Edmund Phelps, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, USA

Europe-Russia Forum, Vienna 2007 

Alfred Gusenbauer, Chancellor of Austria 

Mirek Topolanek, Prime Minister of Czech Republic 

Gedyminas Kirkilas, Prime Minister of Lithuania 

Zygmunt Berdychowski 

USA. It was exactly at the Forum where Fried made a declaration that an American 

anti-missile shield would be built in Poland. One of the Forum guests was Vaclav 

Havel, a legend of Czech and Central-European opposition, who was later President 

of the Czech Republic. For many years the debates of the Forum of Krynica have 

been accompanied by the Economic Forum of Yong Leaders in Nowy Sącz. Young 

activists and students are interested in transformations taking place in the region. 

The European Union became an ever-more important global player. However 

the European Union is no monolith. Therefore, we have to answer a question 

about what role Central Europe is to play in Europe and in the world. In 2008 

the question was asked whether Central Europe was an actor or merely an onlooker 

witnessing integration processes. Donald Tusk, who was present at the Forum, spoke 

about Poland and its prospects for joining the Eurozone. For a few years there 

had been an upward trend in the number of Forum participants. In the year 2008 

the number of participants reached 2,000 people, half of whom were foreign guests. 

The year 2009 was a jubilee year for Central Europe. It was the 20th anniversary 

of the transformations started in Poland by the great Solidarity movement, 

which lead to the accession of the whole region to the NATO and EU structures, 

the breakdown of the Soviet empire and the creation of independent countries 

in its wake. During the nineteenth Forum participants asked questions about Eu- 



105


106 

In Memory of Bronislaw Geremek 

ropean solidarity after 20 years. In his message to Forum participants Jose Manuel 

Barroso emphasised the role of this solidarity from many years ago and decided 

that it was a value for the entire European community. Mutual support, and dealing 

with challenges and reform burdens together – this is the tangible dimension of so- 

65 – 

lidarity in the year 60 – 2009. The Forum became a meeting place for over 2,000 people 

55 – 

from 60 countries 50 – who participated in 130 debates and met at numerous receptions 

45 – 

and concerts. A 40 symbolic – fact for the entire region was that in that jubilee year Je- 

35 – 

rzy Buzek was appointed 30 – Chairman of the European Parliament. Buzek is a person 

25 – 

connected with 20 the – Solidarity movement, a former Prime Minister of the Republic 

of Poland, and a 15 member – of the Forum Program Council. In 2009 Jerzy Buzek rece- 

10 – 

ived the Man of 5 Central – and Eastern Europe Award, along with Günter Verheugen, 

2000 – 

1750 – 

1500 – 

1250 – 

1000 – 

750 – 

500 – 

250 – 

0 – 

FORUM I 

FORUM I 

FORUM II 

FORUM II 

FORUM III 

FORUM III 

Liczba krajów uczestniczących 

FORUM IV 

FORUM IV 

FORUM V 

FORUM V 

FORUM VI 

FORUM VI 

FORUM VII 

FORUM VII 

FORUM VIII 

FORUM VIII 

FORUM IX 

FORUM IX 

FORUM X 

Participants of the Economic Forum 

FORUM X 

FORUM XI 

FORUM XI 

FORUM XII 

FORUM XII 

FORUM XIII 

FORUM XIII 

FORUM XIV 

FORUM XIV 

FORUM XV 

FORUM XV 

FORUM XVI 

FORUM XVI 

FORUM VII 

FORUM VII 

FORUM XVIII 

FORUM XVIII 

FORUM XIX 

FORUM XIX 

FORUM XX FORUM XX

the EU Commissioner, actively involved in 

negotiations with new members, who was 

later responsible for industry in the European 

Union. In the year 2009 there were over 

2,000 participants from 65 countries present 

at the Economic Forum, which had broad coverage 

in national and foreign media. It had 

unquestionably become a European event 

and it is a ‘must’ on agendas of many politicians, 

entrepreneurs and experts. 

The form of the Forum is also developing. 

In Tarnów an Investment Forum 

is organised in order to create a platform 

for the exchange of experience and 

plans regarding the best and most effective 

investment methods. 

Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland 

The logo of the Economic Forum is 

a globe with a leaf, with the Polish flag 

in the middle. Other flags also gradually appeared on the Forum’s logo. At the 

Europe-Russia Forum, which has taken place since 2004, the logo is embellished by 

the Russian flag. This logo marks the meetings of the Presidents and Prime Ministers 

of Lithuania, Austria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Italy, and is held in Vilnius, 

Vienna, Rome and Bucharest. For the Europe-Ukraine Forum the logo is embellished 

with the Ukrainian flag. The Europe-Ukraine Forum was held in Wrocław and later 

in Kiev, and its participants were European Presidents, Ministers and politicians. The 

debated issues included the region of Central Asia, Turkey and Moldova as these are 

important topics for Europe. It is also the aim of the Forum to conduct a dialogue 

about what is important for Europe because dialogue has always been a way of 

searching for the truth. It allows mutual acquaintance understanding, the dispelling 

of fears and a joint search for solutions. 



107

History of the Forum in pdf - Economic Forum

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?