Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosyniak-Kamysh warned Europeans that US President Donald Trump will listen to their views on Ukraine only if they start seriously investing in their own security, UNN reports citing Bloomberg.
Details
"The recipe is simple: more spending on defense, more investment in the military industry," Kosyniak-Kamysh said in an interview. Only then can Europe truly take a seat at the negotiating table, he said.
The impact of Russia's war on Ukraine is, as noted, strongly felt in neighboring Poland and across NATO's eastern flank. Polish leaders regularly echo Kosyniak-Kamysh's call for the continent to increase defense spending. Earlier this week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on European Union members to arm themselves to prepare for a more uncertain world order.
Raising the defense spending target will not only make Europe a reliable and loyal ally in Washington, Kosyniak-Kamysh said, but will also spur economic growth at home through investment in arms production.
But it will require a new level of European coordination and a "radical shift" in leaders' attitudes toward new approaches to financing military investment, he says. This could include policy changes in the EU, not just NATO.
For example, the defense minister said, the bloc could transfer unused pandemic recovery funds to the military industry. "If we could afford to take out a loan to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we should be able to afford new spending to protect ourselves from war," he said.
Kosyniak-Kamysh also proposed issuing joint EU debt to finance military spending, calling the current €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in the bloc's defense fund "simply shameful.
However, several European governments oppose joint borrowing for defense spending. It may be difficult to convince them, the publication notes.
For Poland, the war is right next door. For other NATO countries, it is several countries away. But Kosyniak-Kamysh emphasized that the Kremlin's aggression is not limited to Ukraine, pointing to Moscow's support for the rulers of eastern Libya and its expansion into Africa. This could be a threat to the stability of Southern Europe, he argued.
"I think our partners in Italy or Spain should be aware of this," Kosyniak-Kamysh said. - "The lack of investment in security does not mean that there are no threats on their borders.
Addendum
Trump, who took office this week, has stepped up demands for NATO allies to spend more. He has said he expects at least 5% of their economic output to go to defense - more than double the alliance's current 2% benchmark. Although the US president has irritated NATO allies with his past criticism of the alliance, the war with Russia has made some members see value in his demands, the newspaper notes. Poland is the only ally that is close to meeting them.
In relative terms, the country spends the most on defense in NATO, followed by the Baltic states. Warsaw has allocated a record 186.6 billion zlotys ($46.4 billion) for defense this year, or 4.7% of economic output, up from 3.5% last year. This includes the cost of replacing military equipment donated to Ukraine.
This puts Warsaw in a favorable position to establish ties with the new US administration, Kosyniak-Kamysh said.
Poland also holds a leading position among European allies as the largest buyer of American military equipment with a portfolio of orders worth $60 billion placed in the US defense industry. This could also earn the country Trump's favor.
Last year, Poland signed a $1.2 billion deal to produce 48 Patriot M903 launchers and a $10 billion deal for 96 Apache helicopters. Warsaw has also ordered more than 350 Abrams tanks and 32 F-35 fighter jets for its arsenal, seeking to replace old Soviet equipment with mostly American-made weapons that meet NATO standards.
Poland has also become the gateway for about 80% of Western humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, expanding NATO's presence on its territory. In 2023, the United States deployed a garrison in the western city of Poznan, and now has 10 ,000 troops stationed in the country.