Thank you for welcoming me here in Poland. I know today is a very special day for you and your country. 45 years ago, a wind of change swept through Poland. A wind strong enough to crack the concrete of communism. Solidarność was born, as you just described, and it marked a turning point, not only for Poland, but for the democratic world, that set Poland on its path towards our Union. So, my warmest wishes to you and to the Polish people on this very important day.
Dear Donald,
I am here today also to express Europe's full solidarity with Poland as a frontline state. For years now, you and the Polish people have been facing deliberate and cynical hybrid attacks. I want to emphasise that Europe stands with you in all possible ways. That is why, if you take a long-term look at our proposal for the new modern European budget for the next seven years, we are tripling investment in migration and border management and protection. Member States with a direct border with Russia and Belarus will receive additional EU funding. Because I want to emphasise again that Europe's borders are a shared responsibility. We are here at the Polish border, but we are also at a European border and it is a shared responsibility. We have also proposed a ten-fold increase in funding for military mobility. And overall, a five-fold increase in defence investment. The long-term budget has a very clear and strong focus and emphasis on defence, on military mobility, and on border protection. But of course, we have to bridge the time till the long-term next budget is in place and we need now a surge in defence investment, and that leads me to the task that we have now to fulfill. First is financial support. And indeed, dear Donald, it was under your presidency, the Polish presidency that we agreed on our EUR 800 billion defence investment plan. This EUR 800 billion can be invested and should be invested till 2030.
Dear Donald,
Under your presidency, you also helped fast-track the joint procurement regulation that we call SAFE, it is EUR 150 billion for joint procurement to make our home stronger, to make our Union more safe. And today, we see the results. 19 countries have already applied for SAFE, Poland is among them, so the instrument, the EUR 150 billion, are fully subscribed and Poland will be the biggest beneficiary of this common investment for joint procurement. So, on the one hand, we have to care for our own defence posture, we can use the EUR 150 billion of SAFE for our own joint procurement, our own defence, the strengthening of our own defence industrial base, but it can also be used to invest in the Ukrainian defence industrial base. Because we know that it is for us paramount that Ukraine stays strong and that our neighbourhood stays strong and protected.
Then there is a second element that we agreed on under your Presidency and that is the flexibility of the budget. Poland is already a top spender in Europe, but you requested flexibility for your budget, and it was granted like for 15 other Member States. So, it is important that we have now a surge in investment, that we invest better, that we invest together, that we invest European. And therefore, it is not only a question of financing, but it is also a question of coordination, of European approach, so that all Europeans understand now and over the next years that we need to stay consistent and determined in investing in our defence posture.
We have to keep the sense of urgency Because we know that Putin has and will not change. He is a predator. In the last 25 years he started 4 wars: Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, and the full-blown invasion in Ukraine. We know by experience he can only be kept in check through strong deterrence. Therefore, we have to be coordinated, precise and fast with the surge in our defence posture in the European Union and specifically in the frontline states.
That is the reason why in the next weeks, we will prepare a roadmap on how to invest the additional defence money in the European Union, in our defence posture. We will analyse the gaps we have in the European Union and how to fill them by 2030 with targets, with milestones, because only what gets measured gets done. And we will discuss this in the informal European Council at the beginning of October under the Danish presidency.
Let me finish my statement with a wider view on our neighbourhood, and this is the security guarantees for Ukraine. Indeed, as we understand that we have to be strong in our defence posture here, that we have to invest in the protection of our borders, but also in military capabilities and in well equipped, well trained armed forces, the same goes for security guarantees for Ukraine. The first line of defence in Ukraine is a strong Ukrainian army. I often compare it to a steel porcupine that should be indigestible for potential invaders. The second line of defence is a multinational group, the Coalition of the Willing, with the backstop of the Americans. And then the third and most important line of defence is, of course, our own defence posture and not to forget the work on Ukraine's membership in the European Union.
Prime Minister, dear Donald,
I want to thank you again for the invitation. I want to thank you for the Polish leadership in showing how courage and determination, combined with a deep understanding of our history and the lessons it teaches us, can translate into concrete action — action that protects not only the Polish border, but also the European border. Thus, not only protect the Polish people, but to protect the Europeans and, as you have said, the whole democratic world.
