Poland, the Natural Ally for Post-Brexit Britain

It's an excellent match for both countries.

by Nora Kalinskij
April 17, 2018

By March 2019, Britain will leave the European Union. It can’t, however, leave Europe. If it wants to remain a key player on the Continent, it needs to carve out a new role for itself. Since World War II, the U.K. has been trying to strike a balance between participating in the European project and developing its own, independent relationship with the U.S. to maximize its room for maneuver. But it can’t lean too heavily on its relationship with Washington and risk becoming overly dependent. It’s best hope to remain an influential power in Europe is to build stronger ties with another state on Europe’s periphery: Poland.

The Unrecognized Leader of Eastern Europe

Poland has found itself on the outs with the EU since 2015, accused of violating the bloc’s democratic values. Both Poland and Hungary have resisted EU directives, for example, on refugee quotas. Poland wants to be strong enough to hold its own in Europe and fears being dominated by Germany and Russ…