Dr. Alina Polyakova is the founder and director of the influential Washington-based think tank, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). She is also, among other roles, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University. In May, she visited the Impact’22 conference in Poznań, where we had the opportunity to speak with her about new (and old) challenges for US-EU relations. Martyna Maciuch, 300Gospodarka: Of course, I must start with this question – what has the war in Ukraine changed in the area of transatlantic relations? Has it managed to revive the alliance between the European Union and the United States? Dr. Alina Polyakova: The war has had an undeniable and unprecedented impact on transatlantic cooperation, on the number of areas where ties between Europe and the US have tightened. The United States is now closely involved in cooperation with EU countries in defense and security. I mean, in a sense, the Americans have returned to Europe – from a defense and security perspective. Poland is now playing a key role as an indispensable ally of the US, protecting the whole of Europe. It is now truly evident that Poland genuinely feels a sense of belonging as a member state of the Community and NATO, fulfilling this role, and doing so on the front lines. Of course, in many respects, this development in defense and security cooperation was already underway. But now we see how member states are re-engaging in NATO activities – engagement is visible from both Washington and European capitals. Not to mention that Finland and Sweden will soon join the North Atlantic Treaty. This is a pivotal moment for NATO. You speak of the key role Poland is now playing. Is it possible that Poland will now assume the role of the main European ally of the United States in the geopolitical dimension – a role that Germany has held for many years? I believe that German leadership in Europe still has a future. We have seen very significant, groundbreaking changes in German security policy recently. I don't think many people expected Angela Merkel's successors to make the decisions that the current government has made regarding support for military security systems or energy policy. Germany is now even talking about a complete departure from Russian oil and gas. This was unimaginable – just last summer, Germany reached an agreement with the United States to ensure the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Now the project has been completely abandoned. However, the question is whether Germany is ready to take on the role of an ideological leader in Europe. France is presenting a vision for Europe – but a vision that, I believe, will not benefit all of Europe. So, I think the current moment is an opportunity for Central European countries – such as Poland, the Baltic states, and others – to play a much more significant role in shaping Europe's future. And I think it's high time. We are currently observing close cooperation between the United States and the European Union in the face of the threat from Russia. Will this tightening of relations last longer? Does the transatlantic partnership have a long-term role to play in relations with the rest of the world and when facing other challenges? I certainly hope that the unity we are seeing will endure within the North Atlantic alliance. But this cooperation is by no means perfect – take, for example, Hungary or the blocking of the European decision-making process. So, there are several serious problems. But I hope that in the long run, the kind of cooperation we are currently observing between the US and the EU will also be directed towards other serious challenges that we face as an alliance, with China's international position at the forefront. Frankly speaking – the United States needs Europe. If we are to confront China, the US cannot do it one-on-one; we are no longer a unipolar power as we once were. We must do it as an alliance and do it better. What challenges, besides countering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, lie ahead of us? This includes the issue of technological cooperation. We have the second meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council coming up, concerning the internet and the digital domain. We need to set much more ambitious goals for ourselves in this area than we have so far. If we don't set the direction for the development of digital technologies or cybersecurity, others will – including China. So, I hope this is truly a moment of revival for the transatlantic alliance, and that we will not focus solely on military threats. Of course, that is the most important thing in the short and medium term. But in the long run, we must finally truly build an agreement and a common perspective on these very, very long-term issues. I could list so many problems we haven't discussed that need to be solved together, as a community of democracies. Because if we don't, others will fill that void.

In a series of video interviews recorded by our editorial team during the Impact'22 conference, we asked our guests about the most important economic events and phenomena in Poland and around the world. In this episode, Martyna Maciuch speaks with Olga Semeniuk, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Development and Technology. We began our conversation with the government plenipotentiary for small and medium-sized enterprises by asking what the state is doing to help entrepreneurs in these difficult times – two years of pandemic, disrupted supply chains, and investor retreats caused by the war in Ukraine are significantly impacting the condition of Polish companies. We also inquired about the ministry's latest project, aid for borrowers. The Undersecretary discussed how inflation and rising credit costs, not only for investment loans but also for mortgages, are affecting the situation of entrepreneurs. – These are the tasks that lie before us today, also in the context of the potential that flows from Ukrainian citizens and companies from various industries that want to relocate to Poland. We are talking about construction and infrastructure companies, but also about the Poland Business Harbour program, introduced during the last elections in Belarus – Olga Semeniuk told us. Finally, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Development and Technology pointed out how the ministry intends to support the development of future competencies, without which it is impossible to support innovation and develop the potential of Polish enterprises.