Polish premier calls on Europe to urgently focus on its own security

WARSAW

Europe urgently needs its own plan for both Ukraine and its own security, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Saturday.

"There is no time to waste,” Tusk wrote on X. "Europe urgently needs its own action plan for Ukraine and our security, otherwise other global players will decide on our future. Not necessarily in accordance with our interests. This plan must be prepared now," wrote Tusk.

Tusk’s words echo those of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who told the Munich Security Conference on Friday that Europe must become self-sufficient and “united against common challenges.”

“We cannot rule out the possibility that America will say ‘no’ to Europe. Many leaders have spoken here about Europe needing a common European army. And I deeply believe that the time has come, that this should happen,” he said.

The US president's recent moves have raised concerns among European leaders that decisions on the war in Ukraine may be made without the participation of the European Union, and perhaps even without Kyiv.

Last year Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister, called for EU sanctions on Russia and a 5,000-strong EU mechanized brigade. Poland is spending 4% of its GDP on defense. Sikorski said other NATO members had to catch up.