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The Three Seas Initiative – a Fascinating History

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The Three Seas Initiative – a Fascinating History The Three Seas Initiative – a fascinating history Report and communication strategy 1 The Three Seas Initiative – a fascinating history Report and communication strategy The Three Seas Initiative – a fascinating history Report and communication strategy WARSAW, 2021 THE THREE SEAS INITIATIVE – A FASCINATING HISTORY | REPORT Table of contents AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGY Editing and Art Direction: Danuta Nierada Graphic design: Katarzyna Niklas Cover photograph: Przemysław Szewczyk – IStock Photo Photographs: IStock Photo / Krzysztof Karpiński / Danuta Nierada / Tomasz Szprycha / @tanczaca_z_aparatem PART I: Get to know the Three Seas – the most ambitious geopolitical project of our time / 9 Revised by: Dean Edmunds 01. What is the Three Seas Initiative? / 11 Typeset by: 02. The Historical Background / 15 Grist 99 Sp. z o.o. ul. Warszawska 37, 05-082 Blizne Łaszczyńskiego 03. Current State of Affairs of the Three Seas Initiative / 21 04. Infrastructure and economy / 29 Published by: 05. What is still lacking? / 33 Fundacja State of Poland Al. Jerozolimskie 7 PART II: Three Seas communications strategy and its potential / 37 00-955 Warszawa 01. Promoting the Three Seas: A fascinating history / 39 Tel. +48 695-285-774 E-mail: [email protected] 02. The Three Seas concept / 47 www.stateofpoland.pl 03. Why is it so important to promote the Three Seas Initiative? / 49 04. Communication through Benefits / 57 © Copyright by Fundacja State of Poland, Warszawa 2021 All rights reserved 05. Three Seas — Let's get to know each other! / 65 06. The Three Seas — a fascinating history / 69 ISBN 978-83-961551-1-5 07. How to speak so to be heard / 73 08. Message dissemination strategy / 83 09. Distribution channels / 85 10. Conclusions / 93 Collaboration and development / 95 [email protected] very great challenge begins with a dream. E Over the centuries, the destinies of the nations living between the three seas – the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas – have been shaped not only by the ambitions of the millions of inhabitants of these lands, but also by a complicated history and the will of stronger neighbours. The Austrian thinker Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn said: Man rarely learns any lessons from history, and nations never do. We want to change that. The difficult experiences of wars and totalitarianisms have forever left an indelible mark on the consciousness of the inhabitants of the 12 coun- tries in the region. They are a weight, but also a wealth of knowledge that we ought to draw from. The conditions have fortunately changed, but our dreams have remained. It’s now time to fulfill them. This is the purpose of the Three Seas Initiative – one of the most -am bitious geopolitical projects of our time. Its main aim is to use the huge potential which lays dormant in the region. We want to build roads and bridges between our nations, to increase our ability to develop, to level the differences between the east and the west of the European continent and to show the world the potential of the Three Seas countries. We want to achieve all of this by using the vast social capital, the strength and cre- ativity of the 100 million+ inhabitants of the region. I hope this report, which is an introduction and a synthesis of the pro- ject, will show the ambition and vast potential of the initiative we have started to build. Drawing from the wisdom and wealth of the past, we are bravely looking into the future. The story of the Three Seas is only just being written – so let's write it together! . Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka President of the Management Board of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund 6 7 Austria Bulgaria Croatia Estonia Czech Republic Hungary Latvia Lithuania Poland Romania Slovakia Slovenia Part I Baltic Sea Get to know Black Sea Adriatic Sea the Three Seas — the most ambitious geopolitical project of our time Twelve countries, three seas Three Seas Ini- tiative 8 9 Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest, Hungary 01. What is the Three Seas Initiative? he Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is took the opportunity and joined the EU T a forum grouping together twelve following the demise of communism in states in Central Eastern the region. Europe (CEE), located The Initiative aims to The Initiative aims between the Baltic, Black create regional dialogue to create regional and Adriatic Seas. on questions affecting dialogue on questions The regional forum is member states, particu- affecting member dedicated to infrastruc- larly within the sphere of states, particularly ture projects and groups cross-border infrastruc- within the sphere together Austria, Bulgar- ture. Polish President of cross-border ia, Croatia. the Czech Re- Andrzej Duda and Cro- infrastructure. public, Estonia, Hungary, atian President Kolinda Latvia, Lithuania, Po- Grabar-Kitarovic were land, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. the driving forces behind the project All states, with the exception of Austria, and managed to convince their Central found themselves behind the Iron Cur- Eastern European partners of the ne- tain after the Second World War, but cessity to launch a new form of regional 10 11 to conduct their university studies at Eastern Europe and the West, but also the classical learning centers of Western between today's members of the Three Europe, came to a near complete halt. Seas Initiative. Just as significant was the abrupt As long as the Soviet Union played end to the business ties and trade re- a major role in the region, the roads lations that had flour- and railroads that led to The Three Seas ished in previous years. Moscow were given top Initiative offers our All the countries be- priority, while regional region a chance to hind the Iron Curtain infrastructure, so neces- make up for lost were forced to embrace sary for the integration opportunities during the planned economy of the Three Seas region, the postwar economic that communist doctrine remained, partly inten- boom. demanded from them. tionally, neglected. The near five decades of this economic Rebuilding the links with each oth- model led to the stagnation of the en- er, and Western Europe, after almost tire Central and Eastern European re- five decades behind the Iron Curtain, Polish President Andrzej gion, while Western Europe raced ahead has been a slow process. Despite regain- Duda with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic in the post-war period, with their free ing sovereignty in 1989, it took anoth- cooperation. The member states met for This formidable, ideological bar- market economies leading to a recovery er 15 years before the first countries in their first summit in Croatia in 2016. rier imposed on these countries by and boom that is often described as an the region became members of the Eu- All the countries of the Kremlin, severed economic miracle. ropean Union. It must be remembered The Three Seas the Three Seas Initiative, the natural ties that Yet another repercussion of the Iron that it was not until very recently that Initiative was created with the exception of Aus- they once had with Curtain was Stalin pressuring Central and the Three Seas countries were able to to fix the infrastructure tria, have shared histori- the western parts of Eastern Europe to refuse the much need- take full advantage of what the free in- gap running on cal experiences, with all of the European conti- ed US sponsored Marshall Aid, which ternal European market has to offer. a north-south axis in them finding themselves nent. Cultural dia- had successfully kickstarted the Western Finally, it is also worth mentioning Central Eastern Europe. under communist regimes logue, the exchange economies of war-torn Europe. that the Three Seas countries share and behind the Iron Curtain after of ideas and the tradition for many Additionally, the Iron Curtain raised the experience of foreign domination the Second World War. members of the future national elite a barrier, not just between Central and not just from the post-war era but also 12 13 in previous centuries. There was a time achieved, but infrastructure running at the end of the 1” and through most in a north-south axis in this part of of the 18th century that all the current Europe is still lacking. 02. member states of the Three Seas Initia- As a result, people and goods move tive, apart from Austria, had lost their much slower within the 3SI region than sovereignty to other powers. to Western Europe. Such a state of af- The Historical The Three Seas Initiative offers our fairs drastically reduces the incentives region a chance to make up for lost for intra-regional trade in CEE but Background opportunities during the postwar eco- also creates barriers that make it more nomic boom. It is up to our generation difficult for nations in our region to to take advantage of the situation that cooperate more closely politically, cul- has appeared after all our member turally and even socially. states joined the European Union. The Three Seas Initiative was estab- n Polish political thought, region- to the Dalmatian coast in the South. After the political transformation lished to overcome this “infrastructur- I al alliances were often formed to King Casimir IV Jagiellon ruled over of 1989, all the countries in the re- al gap” as well as to create better condi- oppose larger actors who could threaten the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and gion started building roads leading to tions to improve trade relations, and to our sovereignty. It was in the Kingdom of Poland Germany, Italy and Western Europe increase energy security in the region. 1385, with the Union of while his son Vladislaus in general, which was an economi- Since its foundation, additional topics The Battle of Krewo, that Poland took II sat on the thrones of cally sensible decision in those years.
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