On Tuesday, May the 17th  in Brussels, the head of the Ministry of National Defence participated in a meeting of the defence ministers of the European Union (EU) countries, chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

During the meeting, the ministers discussed, inter alia, implementation of the EU Strategic Compass in terms of improving the effectiveness of the Union's missions and operations. In the second part of the meeting, with the participation of NATO Deputy Secretary General, in the presence (online) of the Ukrainian Minister of Defence, Oleksy Rezinkov, issues related to the Russian aggression against Ukraine and EU-NATO cooperation were raised. 

“We talked about the support we provide to Ukraine. I clearly emphasized the Polish opinion that the presence of Ukraine at such meetings should be obvious and that after the end of the war, we should support Ukraine to join the European Union"

- said the minister.

The head of the Ministry of National Defence also participated in the meeting of the Steering Board of the European Defence Agency at the level of EU heads of state, where the possibilities of establishing  a hub for  European Defence Innovation in the European Defence Agency were discussed.

“I also mentioned that it is worth investing more in the Military Mobility program. It is a program that enables the development, reconstruction and strengthening of all transport and infrastructure projects. This is important from a military point of view. It encompasses deployment the troops over long distances. This money can also be used to strengthen airports or railroads. We also talked about how to ensure that European Union projects can be convergent with those implemented in NATO. I repeated my appeal to use, for example, commands that were established in the NATO format, so as avoid creating new ones, which generates unnecessary costs" - argued the head of the Ministry of National Defence in Brussels.

Minister Blaszczak pointed out that it is indispensable to increase funds for financial support for Ukraine.

“I also touched on the issue of financial compensation. In my opinion, but this opinion is shared by other countries as well, that amount, increased to EUR 2 billion, is far too low. I mentioned that our donation, which we have already made, is half of the amount that comes from the fund. Let us remember that this fund was organized to finance other purposes, for example missions of the European Union countries. Certainly, these outlays should be higher"

- emphasized the minister.

>>> GALLERY - Meeting of the defence ministers of the European Union