Former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, referring to Andrzej Duda’s proposal to increase the rate to 3%. The GDP of military expenditure in NATO countries was assessed as difficult but correct. “We need to be better armed and better trained, and all this costs money, but it also needs to be done step by step,” he added.
President Duda announced to the National Security Council on Monday that during his visit to the White House and later during his visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels, he intended to propose “that NATO countries jointly decide that the Alliance’s demand will be not to 2 percent, only 3%. Defense GDP.
This will be the limit below which it is absolutely not recommended to go
– said the president.
When Aleksander Kwaśniewski was asked about Andrzej Duda’s proposal on RMF FM on Tuesday:
She’s difficult, but I think she’s right. In this situation we need to be better armed and better trained, and all this costs money, but it also needs to be done step by step..
When asked how he viewed Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s comment that the post-war times had ended and the pre-war times had begun, he replied that “it is a very powerful and dramatic statement.” According to the former president, it is important “that we realize that the security situation in Europe, in Poland, has deteriorated.” He judged that we are less safe than 5, 10 or 15 years ago.
The former president was also asked about US President Joe Biden’s words about not increasing the number of US soldiers in Poland.
The most important thing is that they are Americans. This also strengthens America’s obligations to soldiers stationed in Poland
– he answered.
Whether it will be 6, 8 or 10 thousand, in my opinion these are not primarily decisions of the President, the commanders must determine how many of them are actually needed to carry out the tasks.
– Kwaśniewski added.
He ruled that “Biden’s vote must also be understood in the context of the election.”
Americans don’t want to send their boys abroad because it has a bad connotation, and I don’t think anyone who talks about increasing the American presence in Europe will score any points in the election campaign.
– added.
Obligations of NATO countries
NATO member states are obliged under the North Atlantic Treaty to continuously maintain and develop their own defense capabilities; Currently, NATO recognizes that to meet this requirement, each country must spend at least 2 percent. own GDP, but some countries do not meet this requirement. Currently, Poland spends the largest percentage of GDP on defense (4.23 percent of GDP), followed by the US, with around 3.5 percent. GDP. Above the 2% threshold. there are also: the Baltic states and Great Britain, but countries such as France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy or Canada do not meet this requirement. This year, according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s statement, the 2% threshold was reached by Germany.
tkwl/PAP
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Source: wPolityce