Poland has appealed to other EU member states that Europe must take “responsibility” for its own security as Warsaw takes over the rotating presidency amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
As President Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House after pledging to bring Russia’s war in neighboring Ukraine to a negotiated end and threatening to use military force to seize Greenland, Poland is facing a six-month hiatus. He began his presidential term.
“There is a growing recognition among European countries that the coming months will be extremely difficult.…That is why this special moment is the time to take responsibility for our future and our security. We believe this is the right time to say this out loud,” said the Polish Prime Minister. Europe Minister Adam Szwapka speaks to the Guardian newspaper at the Foreign Ministry building in Warsaw.
“Security is something we need to think about every day,” he said, adding that Poland defines European security in a broad sense. “It’s not just about strengthening the capabilities of the defense industry. It’s also about domestic security, energy security and economic security.”
Poland has previously held the bloc’s rotating presidency, but the country and the continent are experiencing a very different moment from Warsaw’s first presidency in 2011. At the time, Poland had been a member of the European Union for less than 10 years. The country is now one of Europe’s main players in Russia’s response to the war in Ukraine.
Poland has long been hawkish on its policy toward Moscow due to its historical experience with Russia, and was ignored for years by many Western European politicians, but the full-scale invasion of Ukraine prompted a major rethink. This makes Warsaw feel vindicated. Russian policy across much of the continent.
“We have never been naive about Russia. We have always tried to convince our partners that Russia is a real threat to our stability, our democracies, our institutions and the security of the European Union. … We’ve been communicating these things for many years, but I think it’s only now that it’s become completely clear to other countries as well,” Schwapka said.
Poland took over the rotating EU presidency from Hungary. Hungary’s longtime leader, Viktor Orbán, has frequently clashed with Brussels and pursued friendly policies toward Russia and Vladimir Putin. Mr Orbán began Hungary’s rotating presidency with a visit to Moscow, which he described as a “mission of peace”, infuriating many in Kiev and other European capitals.
“He tried to carry out negotiations on behalf of the European Union and use the presidency as an authorization to do so. But in reality that was not the case. He did not talk to anyone about this visit,” Schwapka said. He said that Hungary’s policy towards Russia was “alarming”.
Poland and Hungary were close allies under Poland’s previous populist government run by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, but since President Donald Tusk took office in late 2023, relations between the two countries have deteriorated. is getting more and more nervous. In December, Hungary granted political asylum to former deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski. He is wanted in Poland on criminal charges related to his tenure.
“It was not a very friendly move,” Schwapka said of the decision to defect. In response, the Hungarian ambassador was disinvited from a gala event in Warsaw to mark Poland’s assumption of the EU presidency earlier this month.
Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room is Trump. While Polish officials are comfortable calling out the Russian threat, they are much more cautious about talking about the potential uncertainty of President Trump’s actions toward Ukraine or threatening statements toward Greenland.
The Polish president’s list of priorities includes fighting disinformation, but this appears to be aimed primarily at Moscow, rather than Elon Musk or the US social media giants. What should security-minded states do if some of the threats appear to come from key allies?
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“It’s too early to tell,” Schwapka said. “Right now, we are only talking about some statements and communications from President Trump’s team and have not yet observed their actions. Therefore, we can speculate on what President Trump’s term will look like. It’s not a good time. We’re waiting for the inauguration and his first public statement as president.”
Mr. Tusk has previously said that “the time for outsourcing security is over,” and as a top defense spender as a percentage of GDP, Poland would be in a good position to at least have a dialogue with President Trump. He has long called for Europe to spend more on its defense, and recently called on NATO members to significantly increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.
How relations develop with the Trump administration could end up being the most important aspect of Poland’s six-month term, and has traditionally had good relations with both Republican and Democratic presidents. As a staunchly pro-American nation, the government will do whatever it takes to achieve this goal. Promote positive dynamics.
“The better the relationship between the European Union and the United States, the safer this part of the world will be,” Schwapka said.
