Poland’s Conservative (PiS) opposition to the centre-left government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk has claimed the PM was selling out the independence of the Polish army to European Union interests.
On March 13, Tusk had attacked PiS MEPs for having voted against the European Parliament’s March 12 resolution on the bloc’s common defence policy. That included support for Poland’s “Eastern Shield” initiative to defend the country against Russia and Belarus.
Tusk argued that the PiS had betrayed Poland’s interests by failing to support the initiative.
The EP’s resolution on the White Paper on Defence “welcomed” the European rearmament plan presented by the European Commission on March 4. That included a €150 billion instrument to request loans for defence spending and increases the opportunity for EU member states to spend more on their military.
The PiS pushed back against Tusk’s attack on March 14 at a press conference. Representatives of the party argued that the EP resolution was an attempt to use the present security anxieties to federalise power in the community and to begin the process of stripping Poland of sovereignty over its own military.
The PiS warned that if the EP’s provisions were implemented, Poland would lose the ability to make independent decisions about its military, with key choices being made in Brussels, Berlin and Paris.
Former justice minister in the previous PiS government, Zbigniew Ziobro, described the Tusk government’s actions as a “betrayal of Polish interests”.
“What Tusk and his political allies are doing is an undeniable fact; they want to surrender control over Poland’s defence industry and military to Brussels and, in reality, to Berlin and Paris.
“History has repeatedly shown that when Poland lost control over its own army, it ended in disaster for us,” Ziobro said.
Jacek Ozdoba MEP said the resolution calling for fresh EU powers in the defence sphere was dangerous.
“History has shown, in no uncertain terms, how crucial it is to maintain full control over one’s own military and alliances.”
“Can you imagine a situation where all European funds are directed to German industry, while our alliance with the United States is weakened just because someone in Berlin wants to balance the books?” he said, adding this could lead to strategic arms procurement and military deployment being imposed on Poland’s army by Brussels officials.
PiS MP Sebastian Kaleta dismissed the notion that his party was undermining Polish security.
“We are talking about an attempt to change the EU treaties, something we have been warning about for months,” he said.
“The EP resolution calls for all defence-related decisions of EU member states to be made at the European level, not unanimously, but by a qualified majority vote.”
