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Warsaw supports President Donald Trump’s request for NATO countries to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, even if it takes 10 years for the alliance’s less developed countries to reach the goal, Poland’s defense minister said. He said he is doing so.
Wladysław Kosinak-Kamisz told the Financial Times that his country “could be a transatlantic bridge between this agenda set by President Trump and its implementation in Europe.” Poland is the NATO member closest to meeting the new goal, allocating 4.7% of its GDP to national defense this year, the highest of any US-led military alliance.
Ahead of his return to the White House this month, President Trump noted that only 23 of the 32 NATO members, Italy and Spain are members of the European Union, currently meet the 2% spending goal. It is increasing pressure on NATO members to increase military spending. Countries below this threshold.
Kosiniak-Kamish said the new target was an “important wake-up call” for the alliance.
It will take President Trump another 10 years to reach his goal, but I don’t think he should be criticized for setting a really ambitious goal, otherwise we’ll continue to debate whether we really need more spending. I’m sure the country will come out as well,” he said.
When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland doubled its defense spending and ordered billions of dollars in weapons, mostly from the United States and South Korea. The minister said the government had no other choice given the country’s proximity to Russia, adding: “We have bought a lot of things, but given our position on the map, it is not an investment. “We simply need to purchase equipment.”
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Italy, whose Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has strong political affinities with the incoming Trump administration, is falling far short of NATO targets. The government acknowledges the need to increase defense spending, but is held back by the country’s debt burden and the need to rein in public spending. Rome has asked EU capitals to exclude military spending from calculating budget deficits, but the appeal was rejected.
According to NATO, Spain ranks last in defense spending, with a projected 1.28% of GDP in 2024. To fend off criticism, the government emphasizes that the military generously contributes troops and assets to NATO missions.
However, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s assurances that the 2% target will be achieved by 2029 are starting to look inadequate. Socialist leaders’ willingness to make bolder pledges is limited by the country’s pacifist tendencies, rooted in a history that includes military dictatorships. Even conservative opposition parties have been reluctant to support increased spending.
Warsaw hopes to use Poland’s six-month rotating EU presidency, which began on January 1, to persuade other member states to spend 100 billion euros on defense from the next common budget. . Consultation on the proposed seven-year budget starting in 2028 is scheduled to begin this year. The European Commission proposed a 1.5 billion euro defense industry program last year, but Kosiniak-Kamish said it was clearly insufficient.
“The EU has the ability to reallocate funds,” the minister said, adding €100 billion to national defense over the next few years, including by redirecting unspent funds from the €800 billion joint post-pandemic recovery fund. He added that ensuring that this was done was a “priority”. It expires next year.
Kosiniak-Kamisz is scheduled to present Poland’s plan at a meeting in Warsaw on Monday with officials from Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
“If we can afford to borrow money to rebuild after COVID-19, we must make sure we find the funds to protect ourselves from war,” he said. “I know that this is not a view shared by everyone, but Poland has a different opinion. Some European powers are aware that their opinion is not always correct and that their We need to remember that sometimes we are wrong in relationships.”
Kosiniak-Kamisz ruled out the possibility of Poland sending troops into Ukraine to cement a possible ceasefire. President Trump has promised to end the Russia war, but recently pushed back the deadline from his first 24 hours to several months.
“If a peace plan emerges, we will discuss it, but border states should not send troops into Ukraine in any way, because it would take a greater burden within NATO,” he said. This is because I think there should be division and decentralization.”
Estonia’s foreign minister told the FT last year that a broader European coalition, including Britain, needed to prepare to send troops to Ukraine to support the Trump-brokered peace deal.
Although Poland is a staunch ally of Ukraine in its defense against Russia, relations have been strained by historical differences, Ukraine’s cheap exports of agricultural products, and growing discontent with Ukrainians who have left the country. There is.
“Of course there is a feeling of fatigue in Polish society, and that is understandable, especially when people here see young Ukrainian men driving modern cars and staying in five-star hotels.” he said.
Another recent point of friction is Poland’s refusal to supply Ukraine with its remaining stock of MiG-29 aircraft, which Warsaw still needs for its own security.
“On the one hand, I understand President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy’s feelings, because it is the president’s role to always demand greater support,” Kosiniak-Kamish said. “But I think he and Ukraine must also remember that we sent tanks when other countries only sent helmets.”
