WARSAW — Europe is “dramatically disoriented” on defense, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a meeting Tuesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In a press conference following the first joint meeting of the Polish and German governments since 2018, during which both leaders tried to highlight their efforts to enhance cooperation via an action plan, things got undiplomatic when they turned to the issue of defense.
Tusk told reporters that he was “irritated” at Germany’s refusal to consider defense bonds and at the competing initiatives on defense and military procurement across Europe.
“In general, Europe is dramatically disoriented,” said Tusk. “There is a lack of cooperation.”
Poland has rapidly increased its defense spending to 4.12 percent of GDP in 2024 — easily beating NATO’s 2 percent target and making it the EU’s highest spender per capita. Germany has pledged to hit 2 percent this year.
Tusk wants the alliance to do a better job of coordinating its spending and programs. In particular, Poland would like to boost defense spending by initiatives such as joint EU debt for military investments, also known as defense bonds. However, at last week’s EU summit, Germany categorically opposed this option.
“Germany should not finance our tanks. We’ll do it ourselves,” Tusk said. “We would just like to point out to everyone, including our German partners, that the issues of the Continent’s security should not be seen separately and sometimes in competition with various initiatives.”
Scholz has been pushing for more countries to sign up to Germany’s Sky Shield initiative, launched last year and aimed at jointly procuring air defense systems. Tusk has previously said Poland would join the platform.
Tusk is also seeking EU support for a defense line along Poland and the Baltic region’s border with Belarus and Russia.
“I would like Europe to be able to coordinate … between competing initiatives of the various countries, and this is not yet coordinated,” said Tusk.
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