WARSAW, POLAND – May 17, 2022 – Amid tectonic shifts in Europe’s geopolitical landscape, the Atlantic Council reopened its office in Warsaw, Poland, at a high-level event attended by government, business and civil society leaders, among them US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski, Deputy Chief of the Chancellery and Undersecretary of State in the Office of the Prime Minister of Poland Izabela Antos, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Marcin Przydacz.

“The Atlantic Council is proud to stand with Poland at this inflection point in history,” said Atlantic Council President and CEO, Frederick Kempe. “As we reopen our Warsaw office, we salute Poland’s historic role in expanding freedom in Europe, and its crucial position countering Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. This move should be seen in that context, as we stand alongside our Ukrainian, Polish, and European allies to shape a safer, more secure future.”

The Warsaw Office will serve as a hub for further ramping up the Atlantic Council’s work in strengthening NATO and advancing US-EU cooperation, and as a key base for its experts supporting Poland’s growing leadership role and Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s continued invasion. It will be bolstered by the Atlantic Council’s deep roster of experts with significant experience in Poland.

They include former US Ambassadors to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher and Daniel Fried; General James L. Jones, former Supreme Allied Commander and National Security Advisor; Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, former Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs; former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Ian Brzezinski; and Frederick Kempe, the Atlantic Council President and CEO, who is a former Wall Street Journal editor and reporter who has been visiting and writing about Poland since 1980.

Leading the Council’s presence in Poland is Aaron Korewa, who will serve as the Director of the Warsaw Office. Korewa brings to the Council years of experience analyzing Polish geopolitical affairs and is a regular commentator on transatlantic security issues on Polish media. He joins the Council after having served five years at the McCain Institute for International Leadership.

“The Atlantic Council has been deeply engaged in US-Polish affairs for years, but there is no substitute for having a physical presence in Warsaw,” said Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher, co-chair of the Council’s Three Seas programming and former US ambassador to Poland. “With today’s announcement we will be in a greater position than ever before to drive positive outcomes for Poland and the United States.”

The reopening of the Atlantic Council’s Warsaw Office builds on more than a decade of Atlantic Council activity in Poland, highlighted by the Council’s former flagship Wrocław Global Forum and years of cooperation with Polish partners to strengthen the Atlantic community and its shared values which have sustained peace, prosperity, and stability for 70 years.

“Poland and the US have stood together in war and peace for generations seeking to advance an undivided Europe and a free world, rooted in democratic values,” said Daniel Fried, Weiser Family Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council and former US Ambassador to Poland. “Now Poland, the US, and the transatlantic alliance stand at a frontier of war, a bulwark of support for Ukraine as it fights for its life against Putin’s war of aggression.”

The Warsaw Office is part of the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, with its headquarters in Washington, DC. Its remit is to drive an ambitious, forward-looking transatlantic relationship with key bodies of work on the EU, France, Germany, digital technology, the Three Seas Initiative, Western Balkans, and Central Europe, among other areas. It will also work closely with all 15 Atlantic Council programs and centers on issues that will range from energy security to economic statecraft and from NATO’s future to China’s strategic challenge.

For questions or to request interviews, please email press@atlanticcouncil.org.

The opening event will take place in Warsaw on May 17 at 4:30pm CEST and can be viewed here.

Source: Atlantic Council