"We recall how you prevailed 25 years ago. In the face of beatings and bullets, you never wavered from the moral force of nonviolence. Through the darkness of martial law, Poles lit candles in their windows. When the regime finally agreed to talk, you embraced dialogue. When they held those elections - even though not fully free - you participated. As one Solidarity leader said at the time, "We decided to accept what was possible." Poland reminds us that sometimes the smallest steps, however imperfect, can ultimately tear down walls, can ultimately transform the world."
"In Poland we see the strength of free markets and the results of hard reforms - gleaming skyscrapers soaring above the city, and superhighways across this country, high-tech hubs and living standards that previous generations of Poles could only imagine. This is the new Poland you have built - an economic "Miracle on the Vistula - Cud nad Wisłą."