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Estonia–Poland relations are thebilateral relations betweenEstonia andPoland. Estonia has an embassy inWarsaw. Poland has an embassy inTallinn. Both nations are members of theEU,NATO,OECD,OSCE,Bucharest Nine,TSI,United Nations,COE,CBSS,HELCOM andWTO.The two countries became members of theEU in 2004.
Estonia, then part ofLivonia, was incorporated into the territory ofGrand Duchy of Lithuania and later, thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which becomeDuchy of Livonia under Polish rule. TheLivonian War further secured Polish authority, having haltedRussian attempt to conquer the region.[1]Lajs (modern Laiuse, Estonia) was the seat of northernmoststarostwo of Poland, whereasDorpat (Tartu) andParnawa (Pärnu) were the northernmostvoivodeship capitals of Poland. Livonia did not hold any significant position in the Commonwealth's history since it was divided between the Poles, Swedes and Danes;[2] as for its remoteness outside tax incomes,[3] and this would remain until both fell into the hand of theRussian Empire. The still-used flag ofTartu, the second-largest city of Estonia, was granted to the city by Polish KingStephen Báthory in 1584.[4] It closely resembles theflag of Poland.
Under the Russian rule however,Livonia, and laterEstonia, was seen to be the least oppressed under the rule of tsarist Russia and received a nominal level of autonomy, notably the rise ofOrthodox Christianity;[5] however,Congress Poland and laterRussian Poland did not receive similar sympathy, and was under complete oppression led by the Russian Imperial government.[6] Nonetheless, in 1905,unrests in Russia became widespread and it hit to Estonia and Poland. For the Estonians, their major opponent was not the Russians but theGermans at the time, but since the Germans were given privileges in Russia, anti-German unrest in Estonia aimed directly against tsarist authoritarian rule.[7] For the Poles, the Russians and Germans were both common oppressors, also rose up against both.[8]
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After the end ofWorld War I, both Estonia and Poland regained independence. However, increasing invasions from theBolsheviks put two nations into one common front against the Soviet Russians. Estonia was not able to repel the Soviets, but Polish success in thePolish–Soviet War helped both to keep their independence.[9] From 1920s, Poland and Estonia were allies, though there was little contact between them. In 1922, Poland and Estonia were among signatories of theWarsaw Accord, which however did not enter into force, as its other signatoryFinland did not ratify it under pressure of Germany, which was hostile to Poland.[10] Instead, in 1925, Poland and Estonia together with Finland andLatvia signed a convention onconciliation andarbitration inHelsinki.[11] A trade and navigation treaty was signed between Estonia and Poland in Tallinn in 1927.[12]
In 1937–1938, both ethnic Poles and Estonians in the Soviet Union were subjected togenocidal campaigns carried out by theNKVD, known as thePolish Operation and theEstonian Operation respectively. Following theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Poland and Estonia were both invaded and occupied duringWorld War II. Poland wasoccupied byNazi Germany and theSoviet Union since September 1939, while Estonia wasoccupied solely by the Soviet Union since June 1940.[13] Both nations were under common oppression, and many Poles and Estonians were forcefully deported by the Russians toSiberia.[14][15] In the course ofOperation Barbarossa, from mid-1941, both countries were entirely occupied by Germany. In 1942, Polish Prime Minister-in-ExileWładysław Sikorski's intervention to British and American authorities thwarted Soviet attempts to obtain Allied approval for the planned annexation of Estonia and eastern Poland.[16] Both Poles and Estonians were among the prisoners of the Nazi GermanSonnenburg concentration camp inSłońsk,[17] and Estonian conscripts from the SovietRed Army, alike Polish POWs and civilians were among the prisoners of theStalag II-BGerman prisoner-of-war camp inCzarne.[18]
In 1944–1945, both countries were again occupied by Soviet forces. Soviet repressions and deportations of both Estonian[14] and Polish citizens continued. Poland's formal independence was eventually restored, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, while Estonia was annexed into the Soviet Union, thus both had no relationship until thedissolution of the Soviet Union.
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With both Estonia and Poland freed from Soviet oppression, two countries reestablished ties in 1991.
Since 1991, trades and cooperation between Estonia and Poland had increased dramatically, turning them into economic and political partnership. Estonia considers Poland as its priority on their relations.[19]
Both Estonia and Poland are members ofNATO[20] and theEuropean Union.[21] Their relations have enjoyed a significant boost since 2000s. The threat fromRussia, which increased underVladimir Putin, has also prompted two countries to set closer tie together against a common foe.[22]
April 12, 2010, was declared a day of national mourning in Estonia to commemorate the 96 victims of theSmolensk air disaster, including Polish PresidentLech Kaczyński and his wifeMaria Kaczyńska.[23]
There is a small dispute between Estonia and Poland over desynchronisation, which Poland was reluctant to establish the AC link to Estonia.[24]
ThePolish Air Force takes part in the NATOBaltic Air Policing mission to guard the airspace over the Baltic states including Estonia. In 2021, Prime Minister of EstoniaKaja Kallas named Poland a key ally of Estonia.[25]
Poland and Estonia co-hosted the2021 Men's European Volleyball Championship.
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In November 2021, during theBelarus–European Union border crisis, Estonia decided to send 100 troops from theEstonian Defence Forces to help Poland.[26]
From December 2021-April 2022, Estonian soldiers arrived in Poland and helped build bridges, barbed wire fences, reinforced roads, and other border barriers along the Polish-Belarusian border during theWisent joint military exercise.[27][28]
In 2022, Estonian and Polish gas grids were connected, following the commissioning of the GIPL interconnection, also providing Estonia with a connection to the EU gas market.[29] TheRail Baltica andVia Baltica, modern rail and road links of vital importance, connecting Estonia with Poland andCentral Europe, remain under construction (as of 2022).
Poland and Estonia played EURO 2024 play-off semi-final on March 21, 2024. Estonia's last gasp chance to make the UEFA European Championships football finals in Germany later this summer were decisively laid to rest in Warsaw as the Estonian team went down 5:1 at the Narodowy Stadium.[30]
Poland joinedNATO in 1999, whereas Estonia joined NATO in 2004. Poland supported Estonia's aspiration to join NATO, and ratified Estonia's accession in 2003.[31] Both countries became members of theEuropean Union in 2004.
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