Trump Effect: Poland to Increase Defence Spending to Five Per Cent, Build a Half Million Man Army, S

[mystery-ak]

Trump Effect: Poland to Increase Defence Spending to Five Per Cent, Build a Half Million Man Army, Says PM Tusk

Kurt Zindulka 8 Mar 2025

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a number of new initiatives to bolster defence in a speech in Warsaw, as European powers appear set to comply with U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands that the continent pay for its own protection rather than relying on America.

Speaking before the Sjem parliament, Prime Minister Tusk declared Friday: “Hope is no substitute for strategy. Hope is a beautiful feeling, but in politics, it is often adjacent to naivety or illusion… Today, Europe is beginning to understand that since the United States expects much greater outlays, determination and courage from us, it must be met.”

Despite already being one of the top spenders in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on NATO defence at around 4 per cent, Poland should increase its spending to at least five per cent of GDP, Tusk said, according to the Gazeta Wyborcza.

This goal puts Poland in line with Estonia and Lithuania as the first countries in Europe to agree to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for NATO allies to increase their defence spending to at least five per cent of GDP compared to the current baseline of two per cent, which is still unmet by many within the alliance.

Additionally, Prime Minister Tusk called for Poland to build an army of at least half a million people, including reservists, up from around 200,000 today. To help accomplish this aim, the Polish leader called for the return of military training for all adult men in the country.

Tusk denied that this would represent a form of universal military service, saying that it would function more like the Swiss reservist model, in which every man is required to either serve in the military or join another civil service.

Finally, the prime minister also said that Warsaw may consider withdrawing from international treaties such as the Ottawa Treaty and Dublin Convention, which prohibit the use of land mines and cluster bombs.

more
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/03/08/poland-to-increase-defence-spending-to-five-per-cent-of-gdp-build-a-half-million-man-army-says-pm-tusk/

[dfwgator]

Said all along Trump needs to forget about France, Britain and Germany, and just work with Poland on the Ukraine situation.   

[Canuck Conservative]

Poland understands that the Eastern Menace is still there.

[dfwgator]

Poland understands that the Eastern Menace is still there.

They've seen it from both Russians and Ukrainians.