Defence minister questions viability of EU military force
Mariusz Blaszczak, Poland's acting defence minister has called a potential European army an "imaginary" one, stressing Nato's leading role in European defence.
On Tuesday, Blaszczak met with the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who paid a visit to Poland on his way back from Kyiv.
After the meeting with Austin in the village of Wysoka Glogowska, southeastern Poland, Blaszczak said that it is important for nation states to be responsible for defence, and not "some imaginary European army or the transfer of competences to the European level."
Blaszczak said that he also presented "our view on putting emphasis on NATO." "I have found that any competition between the Alliance and the EU when it comes to security is a very bad thing."
He went on to say that Polish-American relations are crucial for the security of Poland and for the security of the entire eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance.
"We can say that Poland is the most important ally of the United States on the eastern flank of NATO, as evidenced by the fact that approximately 10,000 American soldiers are stationed in Poland," he said.
He added that thanks to great relations with the United States, the Polish Army is equipped with modern weapons, an example of which are Abrams tanks.
