LESS BRUSSELS, GERMANY, MORE USA IN POLAND!

Rzeczpospolita writes: Less power for Brussels, greater distance to Berlin and closer cooperation with the USA -- such are the cornerstones of a profound realignment of Polish foreign policy as a results of Andrzej Duda's election.

This week David Cameron begins a tour of European capitals to renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership. (...) He wants to carry out a EU membership referendum no later than 2017. That is a superb opportuntiy to implement Duda's vision of integration.

Except ...the president won't have the power to do it.

He doesn't have the power, and he doesn't have the stupidity to miss the fact that Poland is not the UK: the UK reassessing its relationship with the EU would mean lots more money for the UK (as it wouldn't have to donate to the EU) and millions more jobs (as the EU nationals in the UK would need to get work permits); Poland reassessing its relationship with the EU would mean lots less money for Poland (as it wouldn't get billions upon billions from the EU) and millions more unemployed (as the Polish nationals in the EU would need to come back to Poland).

@Harry: absolutely!

Nobody speaks of doing without. Everybody appreciates a hand-out, grant, subsidy, cash bonus or call it what you may. But Cameron is speaking about renegotiating the terms of membership. Poland's farmers are still not getting the subsidies Western farmers get. That doesn't mean Poland should pull out but, like all other countries including France and Germany which put their own nations' concerns first, should fight for what serves Polish national interests.

@Polonius3: the huge difference between countries such as UK, Germany, France and Poland is that the UK, Germany and France pay much more than what they get in return (therefore the reason why so many people in said countries want to get out of EU) whereas Poland pays a couple of peanuts and is no.1 fund recipient. It cannot be so for ever. Western countries lose money every year for being in EU and I really hope Britain shall get out as it'll have a domino effect and the end of EU.

Poland has precisely zero leverage to tell the EU to do anything. Only a tiny bit less than the UK, however.

But Poland will eventually become a net contributor if the EU lasts that long.

And that will be a day to look forward to: it will mean that Poland is one of the richer countries in the EU.

like in the TV show `Please Bang My Wife` USA would one day say to Germany: `Please Bang Europe`. Brussels would then join in