Tusk hails inclusion of Poland's Shield East among EU defence priorities
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has welcomed the fact that Shield East, an initiative aimed at fortifying Poland along its Belarusian and Russian borders, has been recognised as one of the European defence priorities.
Speaking at a Friday press conference about the decisions of the EU defence summit that ended in Brussels the day before he said that "Europe can no longer be defenceless.
"The new American policy emphasises greater European responsibility for itself. If NATO is to continue to be a pact that guarantees security for Poland and Europe, it is already obvious to everyone that Europe must take on much more responsibility and defence tasks," Tusk told reporters.
He said that when it comes to military spending he would like more European countries to make efforts similar to those of Poland and added that decisions were made at the summit that will mean that Poland "will no longer be alone at this forefront."
Tusk also said that his colleagues in Brussels had to fight until the end to make the Shield East a real priority for the EU, "so that somewhere along the way it does not disappear from the records". He added this is because each EU country has its own point of view and "this is also a duel for European money".
But, he added, "I can say with satisfaction that Shield East has already been permanently entered as one of the European defence priorities and this will have its consequences," referring to the so-called White Paper for European Defence, presented by the European Commission on March 19, which included the project to strengthen the protection of the borders with Russia and Belarus, promoted by Poland.
"This mechanism will ensure that we get as much money as we need, as we want for activities related to Shield East," Tusk said.
Earlier, on March 12, an amendment to the EP resolution on EU defence was adopted, as proposed by Poland's delegation in the European People's Party (EPP) from the coalition government's Civic Platform (PO) and Polish People's Party (PSL). It recognised Poland's Shield East as a flagship project for the common security of the EU. The document was adopted in the EP by a majority vote (419 to 204). (PAP)
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