On Thursday, Tusk attended the summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing,” a gathering of high-ranking NATO and European Union representatives resolved to aid Ukraine battling the Russian invasion.
Following the event held in Paris, Tusk told a press conference following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron that the defense deal could be “a turning point in terms of mutual safety guarantees” but did not reveal details of the agreement.
“We are slowly finalizing the treaty between Poland and France,” Tusk said. “I hope that we will be ready to sign it soon.”
The Polish prime minister said the attendees agreed on a common diplomatic approach towards Russia and fully accepted the “Polish position.”
According to Tusk, Macron agreed that sending stabilization forces to Ukraine must not weaken the defense capabilities of NATO’s eastern flank.
“Poland will more effectively help peace when we effectively protect our own border,” Tusk said about Poland’s strategy, adding: “Everyone has finally understood that.”
Tusk also said all participants agreed that Europe needs to keep good relations with the U.S., “even if circumstances are not always favorable for this.”
The Polish leader added that Europe needs to find a way to have a common policy towards Russia even if Hungary disagrees with it, saying that Europe cannot “count on Hungary” to vote in favor of extending sanctions against Russia.
The Polish-French treaty is an updated version of an agreement signed in 1991.
The new version of the treaty is set to significantly deepen ties between the two EU members, French Ambassador Etienne de Poncins told Polish news agency PAP.
“We must now elevate Franco-Polish relations to the same level as those we maintain with our key EU partners: Italy, Spain, and Germany,” Poncins said.
Poland will be the first non-bordering country with which France signs such a high-level agreement, or as the diplomat put it, a “premium treaty.”
While the agreement sets out to dictate all areas of cooperation between the two countries, according to Poncins, the French side intends to focus on defense and energy collaboration.
“A few years ago, Poland argued that European weapons production was insufficient, forcing it to buy 'off-the-shelf' equipment from outside the EU,” the ambassador said.
“But while that argument may have been valid two or three years ago, it no longer holds, as Europeans—not just the French—have demonstrated a clear ability to ramp up production,” he said.
According to the ambassador, by partnering with French defense companies, Poland would strengthen its own industry since potential contracts would be executed in a “spirit of partnership.”
The new agreement is currently undergoing consultations between the French and Polish foreign ministries and is expected to be signed by the end of June in the French city of Nancy.
According to the ambassador, since Tusk’s Civic Coalition party rose to power in the 2023 general election, an opportunity for revisiting the treaty and “rebuilding trust between France and Poland” arose.
The previous document, Poncins said, is outdated and no longer reflects the reality of Poland as a key EU partner.
“For example, the previous treaty stated that France should make every effort to enable Poland’s accession to the EU—yet more than 20 years have passed since Poland joined the bloc.”
