The abject failure of British Prime Minister Theresa May to get the United Kingdom’s (UK) Withdrawal Agreement from the European Union (EU) through Parliament on 15 January 2019, with MPs overwhelmingly rejecting it by 432 votes to 202, has been put down to a variety of reasons. Primary among them has been the question of the post-Brexit status of the land border between the Republic of Ireland and the UK’s province of Northern Ireland. Although an issue which was initially seen as of minor importance, the significance of the Irish border steadily grew over time until it became the main stumbling block in UKEU Brexit negotiations brought about by the decision of the British people to leave the EU in a referendum held on 23 June 2016. Indeed, the key term of the ensuing debate, namely ‘the Irish backstop’, produced such confusion among politicians, political pundits and the general public that the House of Commons, split between so-called Brexiteers and Remainers, decided to reject May’s deal out of hand. This article seeks to argue that, from June 2016 (the time of the referendum) up to January 2019 (the time of the first vote on May’s Brexit deal in Parliament), the issue of the Irish backstop was seriously underestimated before suddenly taking centre stage and ultimately sabotaging the Withdrawal Agreement from within.

W artykule poddano opisowi działalność (2010-2020) usytuowanej w Czeskim Cieszynie przy granicznym moście Przyjaźni Czytelni i Kawiarni Avion (Čítárna a kavárna Avion) - oddziału Biblioteki Miejskiej w Czeskim Cieszynie (Mĕstská knihovna Český Tĕšín), w aspekcie podejmowanych przez instytucję czesko-polskich inicjatyw społeczno-kulturalnych. Wśród przywołanych różnych form aktywności, sprzyjających ponadlokalnemu dialogowi międzykulturowemu w środowisku wielokulturowym, uwzględniono przede wszystkim Cykl Czesko -Polskich Salonów Dyskusyjnych/ Cyklus Česko-Polských Diskusních Salonů pt. „Bez stereotypów. Czesi i Polacy o sobie nawzajem/ Bez stereotypů. Češi a Poláci o sobĕ navzájem” (2013 - nadal). W opracowaniu przywołano dzieje poprzedniczki i zarazem pierwowzoru Czytelni i Kawiarni Avion - Kawiarni-Restauracji Avion (1933-1939), symbolu międzywojennego wielonarodowościowego Cieszyna. Przestawiono współczesne sposoby upamiętniania przedwojennej kawiarni Avion, przede wszystkim kilkunastoletnie (1996-2010) funkcjonowanie kawiarni poetycko-muzycznej Avion w pomieszczeniach Teatru Cieszyńskiego w Czeskim Cieszynie (Těšínské divadlo Český Tĕšín). We wnioskach wskazano, iż działania Czytelni i Kawiarni Avion wpisują się w ramy konceptualne dialogu międzykulturowego wymienione w Białej Księdze w sprawie dialogu międzynarodowego „Żyć wspólnie jako równi w godności”, takie jak „tworzenie przestrzeni dla dialogu międzykulturowego”, „uczenie i nauczanie kompetencji międzykulturowych” (Rabczuk, 2015, s. 31-32), przyczyniają się do integracji obu Cieszynów i zróżnicowanych narodowościowo społeczeństw je zamieszkujących.

The migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border and its influence on the safety of Poland

Poland is under controlled migratory pressure on the border with Belarus. The influx of third-country nationals is supported by Belarusian state services. These activities are hybrid in their nature, and their aim is to destabilize the situation in Poland and the European Union. Although Poland has taken adequate measures to protect and defend its border, these events are a test of the effectiveness and efficiency of the functioning of the state security system. The purpose of this considerations is to present the events taking place on the PolishBelarusian border and their impact on the security of our state. In the methodological aspect, media and press reports, analysis of source materials and observation of the development of the situation were used. The result of the above is the fact that the migration crisis has not ended and continues to generate serious threats to Poland.

Situation of immigrants and refugees in Ukraine from 1991 to 2013

The author shows the history of the immigration system and refugees in Ukraine. The discussed period of 1991–2013 is not accidental and is quite important in the process of shaping the rights of immigrants and refugees.

Message from the border and the need for education, or what it teaches young people multicultural reality

From the end of the summer of 2021, we have been receiving media messages showing the migration situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. The incoming images and information reveal the dramatic situation of people-refugees- migrants from the Middle East trying to reach Western European countries through our country. Deprived of humanitarian aid, they camp in the woods. Cold, hungry and sick, they expect help from the relevant services. The situation is very difficult, as it has a humanitarian and social dimension, but also, and perhaps above all, a political one. This image reaches adults, but also young people, who are not always able to understand the situation and the lack of help. Observing the attitudes of adults, young people take part in the lesson of indifference and acceptance of evil. The aim of this text is therefore to draw attention to the message received by the young generation and to identify what educational activities should be undertaken in educational environments in order to maintain responsibility and humanitarian values, which should dominate the educational and upbringing processes. So that in an increasingly multicultural world they become a common social practice.

The paper presents a proposal of a new perspective as regards the way of defining the EU’s policy concerning the functional dimension of its borders. Thus, it comprises a counterproposal to the narrow definition of the whole policy, limited to the issues of border control and the principles of border crossing. In this approach, the EU’s border policy constitutes a kind of political framework for three programmes, implemented under three separate sectors of this policy, programmes of the EU activity oriented towards: cross-border cooperation of local communities; the establishment of tightened control and border protection and finally the stabilisation of the EU outside its borders. This is a three – dimensional, internally diverse policy of the EU, the implementation of which – depending on the dimension – is carried out by means of financial, legal or political instruments. This proposal constitutes a more complex approach to the analysis of the EU policy towards its borders and provides the opportunity to consider a particular EU border from the perspective of the level of isolation of border areas, the degree of permeability of the border control regime and of the “friendliness” or “hostility” of relations with neighbouring countries. It seems that such a perspective can better convey the diverse character of the EU’s external borders and determine their actual level of openness or closeness.

Kirkenes city as the capital of Barents Region and a symbol of Russian-Norwegian cooperation

The present paper is dedicated to small multicultural Norwegian city of Kirkenes, which because of its history and geographic location became a symbol of Norwegian- -Russian trans-border cooperation. The text is dedicated to the history of this Arctic city and the beginning, idea and realization of cooperation in Barents Region, which was initiated there in 1993 and the role played by the city in Norway-Russian bilateral relations.