Macron's visit to Warsaw, the first by a French head of state in six years, takes place against the backdrop of uneasiness between the EU and Poland over its judicial reforms. Poland's decision to buy F-15 fighters made by Lockheed Martin is also said to have been another blow against Paris amid its attempts to boost European military cooperation.
French President Emmanuel Macron defined France as being neither pro-Russia nor anti-Russia, but pro-European, as he spoke during his first state visit to Poland, calling for the EU to be firm with Moscow.
“We need to be demanding in our political dialogue with Russia”, Macron said.
The French head of state, who met with the country's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, expressed hope that the people of Poland could trust Europe to protect them in case of an attack.
“I'll be happy the day Polish people can tell each other: ‘The day I'm attacked, I know Europe can protect us'. Because that day, the sense of European belonging will be indestructible”, he said, going on to voice his commitment to NATO despite promoting the idea of a joint European military: “European defence is not an alternative to NATO, it's an indispensable complement”.
On his part, the Polish president backed Macron's efforts to increase military cooperation in Europe, signalling that Warsaw wants to participate in a European tank project.
“We are going to talk about our participation in the…
