Robin Barnett » Ambassador to Poland, Warsaw

Seventieth Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

by Robin Barnett | April 23, 2013 | Reply

19 April marked the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This was an extraordinary demonstration of heroism by a small group of Jewish resistance fighters against overwhelming odds. For nearly a month, they held out against some 2000 German soldiers with heavy weapons. Remarkably, a small group of the resistance fighters survived. The commemoration of this anniversary was truly moving. Together with the Head of the UK delegation, Don … Read more »Seventieth Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

The multi-faceted life of an Ambassador

by Robin Barnett | March 27, 2013 | Reply

It has been a busy time for both me and the wider Embassy team. A recent Tuesday found me trying not to confuse the financing of energy investment in Poland with a trilateral Afghan, Polish, British roundtable on progress and next steps in Afghanistan. Both are really important. Poland and the UK both need to invest huge sums to upgrade our energy infrastructure to ensure energy security and meet our … Read more »The multi-faceted life of an Ambassador

Happy International Women’s Day!

by Robin Barnett | March 8, 2013 | Reply

I am delighted to introduce today’s guest blog by an old friend, Dorota Mitrus*, who made an important contribution to helping promote effective democratic participation in Poland post-1989 and is now engaged in promoting democracy and effective governance in many other countries. Her blog speaks for itself. What I would like to stress is that while for some in Poland International Women’s Day is associated with the communist regime, the … Read more »Happy International Women’s Day!

PM Cameron’s speech on Britain and the EU

by Robin Barnett | January 24, 2013 | Reply

You will of course be aware that David Cameron, our Prime Minister, delivered a major speech on Europe in London on 23 January. It has received a lot of coverage in the Polish media and Foreign Minister Sikorski commented on it on 24 January. The speech is a very clear commitment to keeping the UK in the EU, at the heart of the Single Market, and to maintaining our influence … Read more »PM Cameron’s speech on Britain and the EU

Przemówienie premiera Camerona o Wielkiej Brytanii i Unii Europejskiej

by Robin Barnett | | Reply

Na pewno są Państwo świadomi, że nasz premier David Cameron wygłosił 23 stycznia w Londynie ważne przemówienie na temat Europy. Polskie media poświęciły temu przemówieniu dużo uwagi, a 24 stycznia przemówienie skomentował minister spraw zagranicznych Radosław Sikorski. Przemówienie to w bardzo jasny sposób mówi o przywiązaniu do koncepcji pozostania Wielkiej Brytanii w Unii Europejskiej, w sercu Jednolitego Rynku, lecz także do koncepcji utrzymania naszych wpływów poprzez bycie na czele działań … Read more »Przemówienie premiera Camerona o Wielkiej Brytanii i Unii Europejskiej

Merry Christmas and Wesołych Świąt

by Robin Barnett | December 21, 2012 | Reply

December has certainly not been a quiet month for the Warsaw Embassy team. Just a few examples. We were extremely proud to be awarded the Medal of the Friends of Integration by the prestigious Integracja Foundation at their annual Gala last week. This reflects our work over several years to support the Polish government, Parliament and NGOs in their efforts to improve the situation of the disabled. Our engagement has … Read more »Merry Christmas and Wesołych Świąt

Preventing sexual violence including in armed conflict

by Robin Barnett | November 25, 2012 | Reply

The following is a guest post by Stana Buchowska PhD on the serious issues of human trafficking and violence against women. It is an admirable analysis of a complex problem. Let me add a word on our Foreign Minister’s initiative on preventing sexual violence in armed conflict. When we think of armed conflict, we think first of soldiers and tanks. But war is also about civilians, all too often women … Read more »Preventing sexual violence including in armed conflict

GREAT opportunities on offer in Poland and the rest of Emerging Europe

by Robin Barnett | November 22, 2012 | Reply

After a week talking to businesses and enablers in London, Preston and Glasgow, I am convinced that we are seeing an upsurge of interest in the opportunities on offer in Poland and the rest of Emerging Europe. But we are also seeing British success today. The big story of the week was the delivery of Boeing’s first Dreamliner to LOT – another sign of the Polish economic progress. This is … Read more »GREAT opportunities on offer in Poland and the rest of Emerging Europe

Tolerant: we must be!

by Robin Barnett | November 19, 2012 | Reply

Ambassador Robin Barnett with Marta Makowska (bronze medallist in fencing, London 2012 Paralympic Games)

Friday was the International Day of Tolerance. To mark this occasion, we held a party in the Embassy, which also served as the launch event for a fabulous photo exhibition recalling the superb British and Polish performance at the London Paralympics. I underlined how important a role tolerance plays in any civilised society and how crucial a part it can play in preventing conflicts around the world. I also shared … Read more »Tolerant: we must be!

Poland, part of Emerging Europe

by Robin Barnett | November 8, 2012 | Reply

I am off to London to participate in a week of events selling the opportunity for British business that Emerging Europe represents. Let me begin by defining Emerging Europe. At its core are nine markets, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, which together make up the Foreign Office’s Central European Network. However, in a globalised world business does not function within tight boundaries. Neither do … Read more »Poland, part of Emerging Europe

« Older posts