Poland proposes strengthening Europe through a strategic partnership with the US
During his visit to the United States, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, as opposed to ‘strategic autonomy’ and separation from Washington, proposes a strategic partnership between the UE and the US.
.‘You shouldn’t play with fire’, Mateusz Morawiecki reminds. He points to the eastern borders of the European Union. Without the heroic actions of the Ukrainians, but especially without American military support, without British support, support from countries outside the EU, without Poland’s support for the families of the Ukrainian soldiers – without all that, Russia would have been threatening not only Ukraine but other European countries as well.
If we abandon the alliance with the United States, we will become vulnerable to Russia’s and China’s aggressive politics.
A strong Europe? For decades, the European Union has been unable to build up its power –not militarily, not industrially or economically. The pandemic has shown this, revealing that we had moved strategic industries out of Europe and that production and supply chains had been hijacked. Russia’s war with Ukraine has shown this, exposing the extent of the disarmament of European armies in recent years, the lack of equipment, aircraft, missiles, everything. Russia’s war with Ukraine has also exposed something else: the complete energy dependence of a large part of Europe on Russia at all levels. A dependence that has led to an energy crisis, high prices and social protests in Europe, and the nightmare of settlements and homes being bombed every day for Ukrainians.
Poland has no illusions about Russia. We are ready to fight to restore Europe to its rightful place on the world’s geopolitical map. But we also know, as Mateusz Morawiecki puts it, that we must free ourselves from the grip of the Russian bear without becoming dependent on the Chinese dragon.
Today we are constructing a new security architecture for Europe and the world. We are not doing this in cooperation with the Chinese or through talks with Vladimir Putin but by supporting the Ukrainians’ struggle in every possible way. We know they are waging a battle on our behalf. We do not have the slightest doubt, for the Kremlin leader expressed this thought explicitly, that the mission of Russian imperialism is to restore the borders of the USSR. Great Russia. Including the seizure of Poland, the Baltic States, much of Central Europe and perhaps parts of Germany.
Who can put a dam on this imperial drive?
The key to Europe’s survival today is its relationship with the US. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, the number of American troops in Poland has risen to over 10,000: Patriot missile defence system operators, airborne division soldiers, F-15 fighter pilots, and more. A few weeks ago, a permanent US base was opened in Powidz with several thousand pieces of equipment – tanks, infantry vehicles and artillery. The defence of NATO’s eastern flank is not empty words.
Such important events, such great changes have not been seen in Poland for a long time. Perhaps not since Solidarity or the pilgrimage of John Paul II. Maybe freedom and security are so important to us because of our experience of fighting German and Soviet imperialism over the past 250 years.
.Together with Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Nordic states, Poland now forms the new geostrategic centre of gravity in Europe. We are betting on a strategic partnership with the United States because they have never let us down, and the Polish-US alliance is the best vaccine against Russian imperialism. It is also a pragmatic choice: only such an alliance will ensure that the war in Ukraine comes to an end as soon as possible.
During his visit to the United States, Mateusz Morawiecki repeatedly stressed that either the West reemerges or Europe becomes marginalised. Poland has already made the choice.
Eryk Mistewicz
The article was published in French daily l’Opinion: LINK: « Les Polonais proposent un renforcement de l’Europe par un partenariat stratégique avec les États-Unis »