How Poland straddles a trans-Atlantic defense divide

Yahoo

14-03-2025

WARSAW, Poland — The Polish government has reacted to the new foreign policy course in Washington by doubling down on its commitment to more defense cooperation with the United States.
But while nods to Washington play an important role in Warsaw's discourse, Poland's authorities are also increasingly demonstrating willingness to tighten defense connections to key European allies.
During his official visit to Poland in February, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the nation for its efforts to allocate 4.7% of GDP to its military, an unprecedented level in the nation's history. Hegseth called on other countries across the region to follow suit and bolster their defense budgets.
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland's deputy prime minister and defense minister, reciprocated by vowing his nation is readying 'further acquisitions in the United States' for its armed forces, and discussing investments in joint ventures between the Polish and American defense industries that could involve ammunition production, among others.
Alongside these declarations, however, Warsaw is hedging its options by deepening defense ties closer to home.
Tomasz Smura, program director at the Warsaw-based Casimir Pulaski Foundation, told Defense News that the coming years are likely to bring more joint projects between Polish and European partners in the field of defense.
'Poland's relations with the United States are very close and good, and this is a constant trait of Warsaw's foreign policy that has remained unchanged for decades,' he said. 'However, Prime Minister Tusk signaled in his speech that, while making efforts to maintain these strong relations, Poland will also invest to reinforce the second pillar of the country's security which relies on cooperation with European partners.'
Speaking at the Sejm, the parliament's lower chamber, on March 7, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government recognizes the new administration in Washington is aligning its foreign policy towards Russia with new priorities.
'We are dealing with a deep adjustment of the American policy in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. We cannot get upset with the reality. Every country, and in particular a great power such as the United States, has the right and obligation to shape its foreign policy and its strategy,' Tusk said.
'But every country, including Poland … has the right and obligation to very honestly and precisely evaluate what is in our interest, what is in the interest of our security, and what can create a problem.'
The prime minister said, 'Poland does not change its opinion on the necessity, which is absolutely fundamental, to maintain the tightest relations with the United States and the North Atlantic Pact.' At the same time, Tusk cited Warsaw's ongoing talks with Paris on involving Poland in France's nuclear deterrent program as an example of how a further defense rapprochement with key European partners can increase the nation's security.
'We are holding serious talks with the French on the idea of a nuclear umbrella over Europe. It is high time for Poland, using the resources that it has and also its own experiences … to look with more courage at the most modern weapons,' the prime minister said. 'Purchases of conventional weapons, the traditional weapons, will not suffice.'
Tusk's comment came in response to French President Emmanuel Macron's recent statement that his country is considering to extend its nuclear arsenal's coverage over European allies. Alongside these discussions, Polish President Andrzej Duda has called on the US to deploy nuclear weapons to his country as a deterrent to Russia.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has boosted efforts to expand and modernize its military. This year, the Polish cabinet aims to allocate a total of PLN 186.6 billion ($48.5 billion) to defense. A large share of the country's defense expenditure finances major purchases of weapons from the US, including the ongoing programs to acquire F-35 fighters jets, Boeing AH-64D copters, M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks, and Patriot air defense batteries, among others.
At the same time, the Polish government has declared its willingness to participate in the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative, a continent-wide project to coordinate countries' air defense-related purchases and procedures. Last year, Poland's state-run defense group, PGZ, expressed interest in joining a program supported by the European Defence Fund (EDF) to create a new main battle tank.
Concerned that Moscow's talks with Washington could impact on US military presence in Poland, Warsaw is also seeking stronger defense ties with European allies such as Germany, France and the U.K.
Poland's authorities are aware that, as the U.S. is gradually withdrawing from supporting Ukraine militarily, Europe will need to largely take over the effort, according to Smura.
'As the Polish government accepts that Ukraine's accession to NATO is no longer viable, this topic will be shelved, and Poland will shift its dialog with the United States to an approach anchored in more realism,' he said.