In an interview with journalists, Civil Alliance presidential candidate Rafal Trzaskovsky said that European countries should reach the level of three percent of GDP when it comes to defense spending. – This is a very important diplomatic game for us. The European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should understand that countries should spend more, he said.
As mayor of Warsaw, Trzaszkowski attended the meeting of the Committee of the Regions, an advisory body of the European Union that brings together regional authorities. He also met with EU Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius (Lithuania) and EU Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin (Poland).
– These commissioners know how important security is today, because they are from countries that meet the conditions (NATO membership – ed.) and spend a lot of money on defense, – he said.
“Very Important Game”
Presidential candidate KO stated that he already spoke in Gliwice that “Poland should reach 5% of GDP (arms expenditure – ed.) in 2026”.
– This is a very important diplomatic game for us. The European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization must realize that European countries must spend more money on defense. This 2 percent ceiling is definitely not enough. European countries should reach 3 percent, said Trzaskovsky.
He stated that “these are the requirements of the geopolitical situation today, as well as after the change of president in the United States.” – Donald Trump has said for many years that he will evaluate Europe's capabilities and that Europe should take its responsibility, – he noted.
He stressed that at least half of the budget, taking into account the increase in military spending up to 5 percent. GDP, “should be spent in Poland and should be invested in our defense industry.” – However, Europe should also take responsibility for security issues. Countries like Germany, which recently reached 2 percent, should have even more ambitious security policies, he stressed.
– From our point of view, a part of these expenses, a part of this process of strengthening the defense capacity could be implemented by the European Union, not necessarily in the budget of the European Union itself, which includes the actual expenses, of course. money for defense. Everyone here in Europe is considering some other mechanism, he said.
“We set the standards as Poland”
He explained that the idea is to make part of the defense spending of European countries “better coordinated for the development of the European defense industry”.
– We, of course, set standards here as Poland. We already spend more than 4.3 percent and we need to reach 5 percent. However, we should demand the same from our partners, he said.
– The issue of security is currently the most important thing for everyone, and this pressure should be on the European Union, – he said. He said it was a “good lobbyist”. – As you know, I have been dealing with these issues for years. (…) We hope that this will be reflected in the European policy, he added.
Main photo source: PAP/Leszek Szymanski
