NATO Secretary-General Anders Rasmussen was in Warsaw in March Courtesy of NATO

As Poland prepares to take over the presidency of the European Union in July, the Polish government has deliberately shone the spotlight on defense.

Speaking in early March at the National Defense University in Warsaw, Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said priorities for the presidency would include the improvement of military capability and resource sharing, the development of the EU’s battlegroups (agreements between EU nations which enable a rapid reaction to security issues) and an increase of EU co-operation with both NATO and eastern neighbors, such as Russia. He added that the intention of the Polish presidency was to focus debate on these issues, and to “shape the Common Security and Defense Policy [of the EU] in the future.”

Polish forces have been involved in training Afghani security forces Courtesy of MON

Indeed, speaking on the eve of the NATO summit in Lisbon last November, Mr Klich told Polish Radio that the organization’s strategic development reflected “the interests of Poland.” At the summit, plans for a permanent US Air Force unit and missile defense system in Poland were discussed, and final confirmation of these plans was announced in early March during a meeting between the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in Washington.

At that meeting, Mr Sikorski stressed that both the EU and the US must play a role in ensuring the security of Europe and its neighbors. He highlighted Poland’s commitment to this partnership by citing the US-Polish condemnation of rigged elections in Belarus.

For her part, Ms Clinton said the aim of the meeting in Washington was to “build mutual security, expand prosperity and promote democracy.” She added that both military and economic ties between America and Poland were growing, and stressed the “absolutely unbreakable friendship and alliance be-tween the United States and Poland,” before thanking Mr Sikorski for Poland’s “very strong” military contributions in Afghanistan.

Shifting (in)security

Source: NATO

According to Marcin Zaborowski, director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), Poland is now “a security provider rather than a security consumer.” The country is also, he noted, committed to a number of international operations.

NATO is both the “main pillar of Poland’s security policy,” according to the Polish Ministry of Defense, and the primary framework for the country’s participation in international military operations.

Indeed, Poland was called upon to contribute to the international peacekeeping effort in Kosovo only a few months after it joined NATO. At present it has over 2,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is a participant in the NTM-I training mission in Iraq and in Operation Active Endeavour, which monitors shipping in the Mediterranean Sea. There is a NATO joint forces training center in Bydgoszcz.

The EU and its Common Security and Defense Policy is also important, but is generally seen as subordinate to NATO membership in terms of national security.

Poland is currently involved in the creation of a “battlegroup” unit in co-operation with the Weimar Triangle (France and Germany) and Visegrad Group (Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia) nations. A representative of the Defense Ministry noted that Poland is part of the European Union Force Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that Polish military police comprised the fourth-largest contingent during EU operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Poland takes its alliances very seriously,” stated PISM’s Marcin Zaborowski. “We demonstrate that they are important to us, that we support the notion of a strong alliance, and we are proving ourselves to be a strong ally.”

Source: NATO

Speaking to an assembly of Civic Platform party members in mid-March, he said: “I want to make it clear that Polish soldiers will take part in actions to safeguard the interests of Poland and of NATO’s security only when they are in immediate danger.”

Spending and sentiment

When it comes to defense spending, Poland is willing to put its money where its mouth is. According to the Defense Ministry, Poland’s defense budget for 2011 amounts to zł.27.5 (€6.84) billion. Of this, some zł.1.22 billion is earmarked for foreign operations.

Moreover, NATO figures indicate that Polish defense spending rose by 30 percent between 2005 and 2010. In comparison, Hungary’s spending dropped by 6.2 percent over that period, while France’s fell by 7.8 percent.

Among EU members of NATO, only the UK, Greece and France spent more on defense as a percentage of GDP than Poland in 2010.

“To compare with other EU states, investment in defense and security is considerable,” said Mr Zaborowski. He noted that there is a widely held belief in Poland that defense spending should not necessarily face the first or heaviest cuts in times of economic turmoil.

This sentiment is likely related to the country’s dark history as a battleground for its neighbors. Although the threat of military aggression is now extremely remote, Poles are still keenly aware of historical wrongs.

That said, Poland’s relationship with Germany, an aggressor in the past, is today quite strong. And it has achieved a rocky rapprochement with Russia as well.

“Poland’s position geographically is the same as it has been for centuries, between Germany and Russia. However, the geopolitics are different,” Mr Zaborowski commented, stressing that the former nation has changed greatly. It is, he stated, “a fully democratic state with a strong culture of pacifism.”

To the east, Russia remains more of a concern. “We are addressing difficult historical questions,” Mr Zaborowski said.

“It will take them longer to come to terms with the end of the Cold War,” he added. “There is some doubt over relations between Russia and the West, but over the past two years we have observed a movement towards reciprocation, mainly in relations between Russia and the EU, but also in other areas.”

Dependent on NATO

The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, famously stated the organization’s primary goal was to keep “the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down.” The position may have changed with the new political climate, particularly regarding Germany and Russia – but America is still the prime mover in NATO.

“That’s still very relevant,” Mr Zaborowski said. “We are reliant on the US. NATO couldn’t possibly exist without it.”

Nevertheless, a NATO official told WBJ that as well as contributing troops in other actions, Poland played an “important role” in issues relating to partnerships and relations with Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, and to matters such as missile defense.

“Poland’s voice and input are critical,” the NATO representative added.