EU's rapid response force not equivalent to common army - Polish Foreign Ministry
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski (Photo: facebook.com/JankaOchojska)
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, in an interview with the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, stated that the European Union is expected to take responsibility for strengthening its defense amid the United States' focus on countering China.
When asked whether Sikorski agrees with French President Emmanuel Macron's idea of a stronger European defense and army, the Polish Foreign Minister responded that such statements create confusion.
"Talks about an EU army create unnecessary confusion as they imply the merging of national armies, which I believe will never happen. However, we are in the process of shaping a European military capability known as the Rapid Deployment Capability. I call it the European Legion," he said.
Sikorski drew attention to the geopolitical landscape, highlighting the implications of the US-China competition and Putin's adversarial stance towards the EU, underscoring the need for a stronger European defense.
"Therefore, we should bear a greater share of the burden in terms of defense. Countries like Poland and Greece have been spending a significant portion of their GDP on defense for years, so we have the right to speak about this. European defense is an idea whose time has come," he added.
Macron's initiative to send troops to Ukraine
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the possibility that NATO could deploy troops to assist Ukraine, sparking a discussion among Ukraine's allies.
France later clarified that this did not mean the immediate deployment of troops for combat operations. Some NATO countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Canada, expressed readiness to consider such a possibility.
However, most countries did not support Macron's position. Moreover, as Western media reports, Macron's unexpected statement caused even greater animosity between him and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
