“Long-term arms contracts with American weapons manufacturers may be cancelled and replaced with European contracts”—this is how the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung describes Donald Tusk’s actions in its weekend edition.
The core doctrine of the recently introduced White Paper on European defence, presented by the European Commission, is: “Buy more, better, together, and European.”
“There is no doubt that Germany—as one of the largest arms manufacturers in Europe (e.g., Rheinmetall, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann)—could be a key beneficiary of this plan. Their advanced defence industry, specializing in tanks, artillery systems, and precision technologies, aligns perfectly with the objectives of the SAFE initiative. Moreover, Germany holds a strong position in industrial cooperation with other EU countries,”
recently wrote Grzegorz Wierzchołowski, editor-in-chief of the portal niezalezna.pl.
Die Tageszeitung: Poland’s U.S. Contracts May Be Canceled
It appears that this principle is being upheld by Poland’s current Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. In its weekend edition, Die Tageszeitung published an extensive article stating that “Poland is currently undergoing massive rearmament” and may be seeking “alternative security partners.”
“Long-term arms contracts with American weapons manufacturers may be cancelled and replaced with European contracts,” writes TAZ. The article asserts that Tusk is conducting a review to determine “which American weapons systems would remain effective in a crisis situation, even without continuous U.S. support.”
Komorowski: “Błaszczak Bought Like a Madman”
Representatives of the current ruling coalition have been highly critical in recent years of large-scale arms purchases made by former Minister of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak. These acquisitions primarily involved equipment from the United States (such as HIMARS rocket launchers, Abrams tanks, and Apache AH-64 helicopters) as well as South Korea (including Chunmoo rocket launchers, K2 tanks, and K9 self-propelled howitzers).
As recently as last Saturday, former Polish President Bronisław Komorowski launched a strong attack on Błaszczak’s purchases.
“Błaszczak bought like a madman. Completely without any rationale,” Komorowski declared, adding that the former defence minister’s actions amounted to “pure propaganda.”
Currently in opposition, the Law and Justice (PiS) party highlights delays and non-implementation of arms contracts negotiated by the previous United Right government. Last year, TV Republika revealed a document indicating that the Ministry of National Defense (MON) was planning to reduce defence expenditures.
“Europe Has No Defense Capabilities”
The opposition also criticizes a resolution recently passed by European Parliament members from the ruling coalition on December 13. According to them, this resolution results in a loss of national sovereignty over military command and weakens NATO.
“The EU has always harboured ambitions to take control of member states’ defence policies and duplicate NATO’s role. (…) Various provisions introduce measures that directly undermine security. The proposal to establish the EU as a genuine security guarantor, increase defence readiness, and create a European Defense Union—when we already have NATO and the EU currently lacks any real defence capabilities—is problematic,” said former Deputy Minister of Defense Marcin Ociepa during a parliamentary debate on a resolution that, in Donald Tusk’s view, was meant to denounce PiS and Confederation politicians for voting against the European Parliament resolution.
Błaszczak: “Now It’s Germany Informing Us of Tusk’s Plans”
PiS politicians have reacted to the article published on taz.de.
“We should get used to the new standards of the ‘smiling Poland.’ Now it is Germany that informs us about Tusk’s government plans. This time, from the German press, we learn that the Ministry of National Defense may cancel arms contracts signed with the U.S. Let me remind you: this includes contracts for F-35 fighter jets, the Patriot air defence system, Abrams tanks, Apache helicopters, and HIMARS launchers,”
wrote Mariusz Błaszczak on social media.
“According to the German press, Poland, under the leadership of Tusk’s left-liberal government, is now conducting… an audit of military contracts with the U.S. This is nothing other than ‘Reset 2.0,’”
added PiS MEP Bogdan Rzońca.
Die Tageszeitung: Tusk Has Postponed Poland’s Nuclear Energy Project
Another noteworthy aspect of Die Tageszeitung‘s reporting on Donald Tusk’s plans concerns a separate major Polish project—the construction of a nuclear power plant.
“Postponed or cancelled? Before the Polish government invests in new nuclear power plants, Warsaw is investing billions in new power lines and electricity storage facilities,” Die Tageszeitung reported a few days ago. “No government politician openly admits this, but in a few years, it will become clearer just how expensive nuclear energy will be compared to green energy from wind and solar sources,” wrote journalist Gabriele Lesser.