The “strong signal” from the Munich Security Conference is that Europe needs to start taking its own security seriously, Poland’s foreign minister has said.
Radosław Sikorski told reporters on Sunday that the message coming out of the heavyweight three-day summit needed to be taken aboard by politicians across the spectrum in his homeland.
He added that this core takeaway from the event chimed with the feelings of Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had spoken to delegates “from the depths of his country's war tragedy.”
“I hope that all Polish politicians will finally understand that the choice in Europe is between Brussels and Moscow,” Sikorski said, quoted by the press agency PAP.
“And I hope that no one will have any more illusions, because Ukraine says it, knowing what it is saying,” he said.
He added that this core takeaway from the event chimed with the feelings of Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had spoken to delegates “from the depths of his country's war tragedy.”
“I hope that all Polish politicians will finally understand that the choice in Europe is between Brussels and Moscow,” Sikorski said, quoted by the press agency PAP.
“And I hope that no one will have any more illusions, because Ukraine says it, knowing what it is saying,” he said.
EU loosens ‘shackles’ of budget rules
Sikorski said that another important message at the conference came from the head of the European Commission, who proposed “loosening the shackles of budget discipline, which will allow European countries to spend more money on defense.”
On Friday, Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to amend an agreement on how much national debt EU member states are allowed to shoulder so that countries can “substantially increase their defense expenditure.”
Specifically, the plans involve exempting investment in defense from the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact, which sets limits on countries’ budget deficits and their debt-to-GDP ratio.
Several member states, including Poland, had called for these rules to be loosened, reports said.
Sikorski’s ‘relief’ at U.S. position
The conference, which drew all the big political movers and shakers from across Europe, was rocked by comments from U.S. Vice President JD Vance about declining European democratic values.
Many politicians criticized his comments. But in an interview with TVP World on Saturday, Sikorski said he’s “relieved” that the United States had not announced cuts to its defense spending in Europe.
“There was some press speculation that he might announce cuts in U.S. military presence in Europe, and he didn't do that,” he told TVP World.
Sikorski also pushed back against Vance’s comments about Europe losing its democratic values, saying Europe has different rules, such as libel laws, and more restrictions around election funding.
However, he said it was a “slight pity” the vice president did not lay out America’s “strategic vision” for security in the region.
“There was some press speculation that he might announce cuts in U.S. military presence in Europe, and he didn't do that,” he told TVP World.
Sikorski also pushed back against Vance’s comments about Europe losing its democratic values, saying Europe has different rules, such as libel laws, and more restrictions around election funding.
However, he said it was a “slight pity” the vice president did not lay out America’s “strategic vision” for security in the region.
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