On Thursday, November the 25th, 2021 in Romania, Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defence, participated in the meeting of defence ministers in the B9 format. During the first working session, the situation in the region and the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border were discussed. The ministers also summarized the most important decisions of the North Atlantic Alliance summit held in June this year.

“We talked about threats, about the security situation on NATO's eastern flank. The B9 format includes countries that are linked by a common presence in the Alliance, but also countries located in the territory from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. We share the threats, we are in solidarity with each other, we support each other and this is undoubtedly a great value of the B9 countries. We had the opportunity to talk about the threats that affect the entire eastern flank of the Alliance. We also talked about the situation around the borders of all countries that establishing NATO's eastern flank” - said the minister.

The ministers also raised issues related to the new strategic concept of the Alliance and the implementation of the NATO 2030 agenda. Among the topics discussed were also the development of NATO capabilities, resilience, military mobility and the NATO-EU strategic agenda for security and defence.

“We also discussed relations between the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union. We agreed that these relations should be consistent, that competition between them should not be allowed. We need to look for synergies between efforts to build NATO structures and EU programs, because they can perfectly complement everything related to defence. An example is the EU's PESCO programs ” - emphasized the head of the Ministry of Defence.

In the evening, Minister Blaszczak met with his Romanian counterpart - Vasil DÎNCU, Romania's Minister of Defence. Security issues on the eastern flank of the Alliance and cooperation within NATO and the European Union were discussed, inter alia, by ministers. 

The head of the Ministry of National Defence congratulated Minister Dîncu that he took over the post of Romanian defence minister and emphasized good relations between Poland and Romania.

“I wish to congratulate Minister Dîncu, who took over the position of  Romanian Minister of Defence. I wish Romania and Poland to develop their defence relations as they have  had so far. Our relations have always been very good, and today they are. I am convinced that they will  remain the same in the future. I want to express my gratitude  for the understanding and support that Romania is providing to Poland. It is really optimistic. We are among friends, we can count on each other.We appreciate that Romanian soldiers serve as a part of EFP NATO in Poland, Polish soldiers serve shoulder to shoulder with Romanian soldiers to ensure safety” - Minister M. Błaszczak emphasized.

>>> GALLERY - Meeting of B9 defence ministers