- The head of the MFA expressed concerns about the U.S.-China trade war and the possible reassessment of the dollar's function for gold
- The Minister pointed out that Europe is presently incapable to deter Vladimir Putin and should make its own defence capabilities
- Mr Sikorski pointed out the proposal from the European Commission, which proposed the SAFE instrument, offering EUR 150 billion in defence loans, with the request to cooperate with EU partners
- More crucial information can be found on the Onetu homepage
The Minister of abroad Affairs attended the East x West Forum conference in Wrocław, which was organised by the Bridge Foundation. The Polish defence economy was discussed and competitiveness was built in the face of technological changes and energy transformation.
The head of the MFA pointed out that present Europe itself is not capable of deterring Vladimir Putnia. “The question is whether it should be ready for this in a decade. The Americans tell me that they want Europe to be able to act on its own against little threats – any warlord in Libya or oligarchs in the Balkans. Not all case we gotta call Washington. said Sikorski.
When asked about Poland's defence policy, the head of the MFA said that military equipment should be ordered where it is "really manufactured". — An example — the largest drone mill in Poland and the EU is WB Electronics, not PGZ, which for respective years could not make even a prototype, and it should be learned from it,” said the minister.
Head of the European Defence Ministry
Sikorski recalled proposed by the EC alleged SAFE instrument, where EU associate States could number on up to €150 billion in low-interest loans to invest in their own defence.
Like he said, In the first year, funds for reinforcement under the programme can be utilized in the country“After that, cross-border consortia with at least 1 EU partner will should be established”. “There is simply a tsunami of defence money. (...) We would besides like to usage the banks for reinforcement and leverage their contribution times 20 – he noted.
Sikorski besides said avoids talking about the European Army‘Some people realize it as a merger of national armies, and it won't and shouldn't be‘. “I, by European capabilities, mean additional national capabilities, and this is already being realized — theoretically, by the end of next year, a reinforced brigade called fast consequence forces should be formed. We will see if the EU will meet the deadline," said the head of the MFA.
Minister, asked about NATO cooperation with Ukraine, pointed out the NATO-Ukraine Analysis, Training and Education Centre opened in February in Bydgoszcz (JATEC). “This is simply a combined center for analysing what is happening in Ukraine and training, and there will, of course, be Ukrainians. The most crucial task for the Polish army present is to learn from Ukrainians the lessons of this war said Sikorski. He added that this requires a change in paradigms of reasoning about equipping the army and its operational art.
Radosław Sikorski on the US-China trade war
The head of the MFA was besides asked about the top concerns about the current global situation. He pointed to the trade war between the US and China and expressed concern that the Chinese "better counted their resources than the US counted theirs and Chinese". "Maybe the Chinese are better prepared to win a trade war, and that can lead to a re-esteem of the correlation of forces in the world; and I fear the signal from the stock and bond marketplace in the US that this time the safe bay was not a dollar, but gold, and what this could mean for the function of the dollar in the planet economy," Sikorski said.
In mid-March, the European Commission presented the alleged ‘European Commission’. White Paper of European Defencewhich includes proposals for investment in the defence of European countries.
Among these solutions was the creation of a fresh EU financial instrument called SAFE, in which EU associate States could number on up to EUR 150 billion in the form of low-interest loans, to invest in their own defences, provided that this money was primarily located in the European arms industry. In addition, the Commission's proposals concern the mobilisation of up to 800 billion additional euro by individual associate States.
According to Polish politicians, among others, Vice-President of the MON Cezary Tomczyk, Poland could number on up to EUR 20 billion from the SAFE instrument, which would strengthen Polish defence spending.
