Germany and Poland to sign a new defense deal as balance of power in Europe shifts
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Germany and Poland were poised to sign a new defense pact Wednesday, putting aside their checkered past to strengthen European military cooperation at a time of rising tensions with Russia and increasing uncertainty about U.S. engagement in Europe.
Relations between the two neighbors have become more pragmatic in recent years following Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022 and the rise to power of a liberal government in Poland in 2023.
As USA focuses on a partial decline Because of its military presence in Europe, Poland wants to ensure that its major European allies play a greater role in defending the continent’s eastern flank.
Germany looks for partners as it moves forward Revitalize the Bundeswehr armyAfter decades of neglect in its ambition to build the strongest conventional army on NATO’s European side, this effort will make it a mainstay of European defense for years to come.
The importance of Poland as a logistics center for Ukraine, growing economy And heavy defense investmentmaking it an attractive partner for Germany and other core European countries.
“We Germans need a strong Poland as an equal partner,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after a meeting with liberal Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Berlin in December. “This is in our fundamental interest.”
Germany has a key role in securing Europe’s eastern borders
The defense agreement will include plans for the protection of the Baltic Sea region and details on cooperation on military mobility and infrastructure, cyber defense and new technologies.
Justyna Gotkowska, deputy director of the Warsaw-based think tank Center for Eastern Studies, said the two countries are irrevocably bound by NATO’s defense plans, which give Germany, along with Poland and other countries in the central and eastern European region, a key role in the defense of the Baltic region.
“Germany is largely responsible for the defense of the Baltic states, and this cannot happen without cooperation with Poland,” Gotkowska said.
The Baltic countries are often mentioned as the most likely target if Russia attacks NATO territory in the future.
Historical wounds still cause problems
The defense agreement is expected to reaffirm the mutual defense obligations set out in the NATO and European Union agreements to which both countries are parties.
However, unlike the bilateral agreements signed with France and the United Kingdom in recent years, the Polish-German agreement is inter-ministerial, focused on practical aspects of military cooperation and does not contain the political mutual defense declarations contained in bilateral agreements.
When asked by Polish Radio Trojka in June why Poland had not signed a similar agreement with Germany, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that President Karol Nawrocki, who came to power with the support of the national conservative Law and Justice party, would never agree to this.
Sikorski said that if the Germany-Poland agreement is signed, “all hell will break loose here.”
While Law and Justice was in power, the government demanded $1.3 trillion in compensation from Germany for its invasion of Poland in World War II; Berlin rejected this request.
The issue is likely to come up again ahead of next year’s general election, and Tusk will try to avoid appearing soft or serving Berlin’s interests. Tusk demanded that Germany act faster to compensate the surviving victims of the occupation.
Poland is not yet core Europe
Despite Poland’s growing importance in Europe’s security architecture, Germany preferred to leave Warsaw aside and make major decisions on Ukraine or Iran together with its Western European allies France and Britain.
On June 7, three Western European countries received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London to discuss the role they could play in potential future peace negotiations with Russia.
At a press conference in Warsaw after the London meeting, Tusk said he had complained to Merz that Poland should be part of the discussion on the future of Ukraine and the region. “Any regulation made without our participation will not be respected or binding on us,” Tusk said.
Rolf Nikel, former German ambassador to Poland and vice president of the German Council on Foreign Relations, said that Poland’s role and importance within Europe and NATO is increasing.
“So Poland today must be taken more seriously and, above all, respected more than we have seen in the past,” said Nikel.
Gotkowska, of the Center for Oriental Studies, said Germany must accept that its economy is stagnating while Poland’s economy and military power are growing.
“The balance of power in Europe has changed in recent years,” Gotkowska said. he said.
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Kirsten Grieshaber and Kerstin Sopke from Berlin contributed to this report.
