During his visit to Edmonton, Canada, Polish President Andrzej Duda called on other NATO countries to raise their defence spending to 3% of GDP, arguing that the security situation had changed, according to Euractiv.
What was adequate to the 2014 situation (…) certainly does not suffice.
Poland spent 4% of its GDP on defence in 2023, making the country one of the top performers in NATO in terms of military spending, well above the 2% of GDP the alliance states agreed to in 2014.
“We have to fortify ourselves so that no one will dare to attack us.”
Duda stated that NATO’s actions were “anything but leading up to a confrontation” with Russia. The president also announced on Monday that Poland was ready to host nuclear weapons on its territory as part of a nuclear exchange programme. He confirmed that he had held talks on the issue with the US administration during a recent visit.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose Civic Platform (PO, EPP) party had previously been sceptical of such a move, called for a meeting with the president to “better understand his intentions.”
This idea is (…) very serious, and I would have to know all the circumstances that prompted the president to make his declaration.
Duda later confirmed that he met with Tusk to discuss Poland’s participation in the nuclear sharing programme.
“For me, it is clear and obvious that we cooperate in matters relating to foreign policy and in any other matter where there is a need. So far, this co-operation has been going well, as you have seen, and is beneficial for Poland.”
