November 14, 2023| Community Event | Online

A New Dawn for Europe’s Eastern Front

The Political and Strategic Impacts of Poland’s New Administration

Event Overview

All eyes are on Israel, Gaza, Russia, and Ukraine—but a significant shift just happened in Europe’s Eastern Front which could introduce a whole new layer of complexity to its regional security.

On October 15, Poland held elections that resulted in the victory of the Law and Justice party who ruled for the last eight years. While the party will try to form a government, they fall short of holding a parliamentary majority. This poses many challenges that we would like to explore. What domestic changes led to this result? What could it mean for Poland’s economy and foreign policy priorities? Finally, what is the future of Poland and Eastern Europe? Poland serves as the hub of all Western humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine—should we expect changes to Poland’s relationship with the European Union, the United States, or NATO?

Common Sense Society (CSS) held a virtual briefing on Tuesday, November 14, to explore these issues.

Polish entrepreneur, economist, and president of the Management Board of Polish Development Fund Mr. Paweł Borys addressed the election’s broad cultural and economic effects. We also welcomed the former U.S. Ambassador to Poland, The Honorable Georgette Mosbacher, who addressed the regional security impacts. The discussion was moderated by CSS senior fellow and former IMF executive director, Mr. Piotr Trabinski, and was immediately followed by Q&A with questions from CSS members and alumni.

Event Recording

Location

Virtual Briefing

Featured Speakers

Paweł Borys

Mr. Paweł Borys is president of the Management Board of Polish Development Fund, specializing in investments, management, macroeconomic analyses, strategic and financial planning, and company restructuring. He has managed the pension funds for leading Polish financial institutions, including the National Bank of Poland and the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Paweł co-developed a private equity and venture capital investments company AKJ Capital S.A. and sits on the supervisory board of eighteen Polish and foreign companies. He graduated from the Warsaw School of Economics with a degree in international financial markets, is widely published, and is a double recipient of the best investment fund performance award in Poland.

The Honorable Georgette Mosbacher

The Hon. Georgette Mosbacher is an entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, and diplomat. From 2018 to 2020, she served as the United States ambassador to Poland, leading top diplomatic, economic, and security issues in Central Europe including laying the foundation for the U.S.-NATO Ballistic Missile Defense Site in Poland. She is the recipient of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and the U.S. Department of the Army’s Distinguished Public Servant Medal. Before government service, Mosbacher was a leader in the intensely competitive cosmetics industry. She is the author of two books and the founder of multiple charities, including the New York Center for Children and Protect Our Daughters. She holds a B.S. from Indiana University.

Piotr Trabinski

Mr. Piotr Trabinski is a senior fellow at Common Sense Society and a former International Monetary Fund executive director, where he worked on fiscal and monetary policies, financial sector supervision, central bank digital currencies, fintech regulation, anti-money laundering, and combating terrorism financing. Prior to that, he worked in Poland’s banking sector where he held corporate senior managerial positions and spearheaded IT projects. He has a J.D. and LL.M. from the University of Warsaw, an M.Eng. in computer science and cybersecurity from the George Washington University, and an M.A. in international relations from The Institute of World Politics.