Poland’s Morawiecki plays Europe’s anti-Macron in Washington

There’s an Emmanuel Macron-shaped shadow hovering over this week’s U.S. go to by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

In distinction to the French president — who in an interview with POLITICO tried to place a long way between the U.S. and Europe in any future confrontation with China over Taiwan and referred to as for strengthening the Continent’s “strategic autonomy” — the Polish chief is underlining the crucial significance of the alliance between America and Europe, not least as a result of his nation is considered one of Kyiv’s strongest allies within the warfare with Russia.

“As an alternative of constructing strategic autonomy from america, I suggest a strategic partnership with america,” he stated earlier than flying to Washington.

Within the U.S. capital, Morawiecki continued together with his under-the-table kicks on the French president.

“I see no different, and we’re completely on the identical wavelength right here, to constructing a good nearer alliance with the Individuals. If international locations to the west of Poland perceive this much less, it’s most likely due to historic circumstances,” he stated on Tuesday in Washington.

Not like France, which has spent many years bristling at Europe’s reliance on the U.S. for its safety, Poland is among the Continent’s keenest American allies. Warsaw has pushed exhausting for years for U.S. troops to be stationed on its territory, and lots of of its latest arms contracts have gone to American firms. It signed a $1.4 billion deal earlier this yr to purchase a second batch of Abrams tanks, and has additionally agreed to spend $4.6 billion on superior F-35 fighter jets.

“I’m glad that this proposal for a good deeper strategic partnership is one thing that finds such fertile floor right here in america, as a result of we all know that there are numerous ideas formulated by others in Europe, ideas that create extra threats, extra query marks, extra unknowns,” Morawiecki stated. “Poland is attempting to keep up essentially the most commonsense coverage primarily based on an in depth alliance with america inside the framework of the European Union, and that is one of the best path for Poland.”

Quick buddies

Poland has turn out to be considered one of Ukraine’s most vital allies, and entry to its roads, railways and airports is essential in funneling weapons, ammunition and different support to Ukraine.

That’s helped shift perceptions of Poland — seen earlier than the warfare as an more and more marginal member of the Western membership because of its points with violating the rule of legislation, right into a key nation of the NATO alliance.

Warsaw additionally sees the Russian assault on Ukraine as justifying its long-held suspicion of its historic foe, and it hasn’t been shy in pointing the finger at Paris and Berlin for being fallacious concerning the menace posed by the Kremlin.

“Outdated Europe believed in an settlement with Russia, and previous Europe failed,” Morawiecki stated in a joint information convention with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. “However there’s a new Europe — Europe that remembers what Russian communism was. And Poland is the chief of this new Europe.”

That’s why Macron’s feedback have been seized on by Warsaw.

“I completely don’t agree with President Macron. We imagine that extra America is required in Europe … We wish extra cooperation with the U.S. on a partnership foundation,” Marcin Przydacz, a overseas coverage adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda, instructed Poland’s Radio Zet, including that the strategic autonomy concept pushed by Macron “has the purpose of reducing hyperlinks between Europe and america.”

Whereas Poland is eager on European international locations hitting NATO’s purpose of spending a minimum of 2 p.c of gross home product on protection — a goal that solely seven alliance members, together with Poland, however not France and Germany, are assembly — and has no drawback with them build up army industries, it doesn’t wish to weaken ties with the U.S., stated Sławomir Dębski, head of the government-financed Polish Institute of Worldwide Affairs.

He warned that Macron’s talks of distancing Europe from America within the occasion of a battle with China “threatens to interrupt up the EU, which is in opposition to the pursuits not solely of Poland, but additionally of most European international locations.”