Description: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has emphasized that Poland’s EU Presidency would be exclusively focused on security both Polish and European. He highlighted the ongoing problems Poland faces in their border with Belarus and the constant threat of migrant overflow which could pose a potential risk for Poland’s security. He also brought up issues such as the everlasting threat of Russian hybrid attacks which are in large part facilitated by their close ally Belarus. Ultimately, he highlighted that Polish security equals EU’s security since Poland represents a large part of EU’s external border.
Impact: Poland being at the forefront of EU’s external border would aim towards future intensive rearmament and enhance all around security both internal and external. As EU’s first line of defense against Russia, Poland could focus on the establishment of bilateral relations with EU and NATO members to increase military readiness and counter migrant insurgencies within its borders aimed at destabilizing the country internally. With EU’s shift towards far – right political stances and the all around miscoordination within the Union, Poland could potentially represent a key strategic point for Europe’s defense in the future especially on the mid to long term.