This will include increasing the number of regular troops to 250 000, Territorial Defense Force to 50 000, creation of a ‘Cyberspace Defense Force’ and more.
So are they trying to protect themselves from migrants, or Russia? Because I’m kind of confused.
Also, question for people knowledgeable on Polish politics.
>Jaroslaw Kaczynski
>Most powerful politician in Poland
Why is the Deputy PM the most powerful man in the country? Is it like a Putin/Medvedev situation?
Edit: Ah yes, downvoted for asking for clarification. Stay class r/Europe
First they start demanding reparations from Germany (again) now this? They might be up to something.
Chef, lead us to ~~Kovno~~ Minsk and Moscow!
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s ruling party leader presented plans Tuesday for a bill to “defend the fatherland,” legislation he said is aimed at “radically” strengthening the military as the country faces migration pressure from its eastern neighbor Belarus.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who holds the position of deputy prime minister but is undisputedly the most powerful politician in Poland, said the bill is needed due to a deteriorating international situation and also to Poland’s geopolitical location. Examples he gave included neighboring “Russia’s imperial ambitions” and the hybrid warfare being waged by Belarus against Poland and other European Union nations using migrants.
“If we want to avoid the worst, that is war, we have to act according to the old rule: ‘If you want peace, prepare for war,’” Kaczynski said at a news conference in Warsaw.
He argued that, as a country which lies on the eastern flank of the European Union and NATO, Poland must have a serious deterrent force and the “ability to effectively defend itself for a long time on its own.”
He noted NATO decisions take time to implement.
The bill, which still needs approval from parliament and the president, is aimed at replacing an existing one from 1967. At that time Poland was a member of Warsaw Pact eastern military alliance, under Moscow’s control. Since 1999 it has been a member of NATO, and is regularly cited as one of the few alliance members that invest at least 2% of its GDP in defense.
Kaczynski said, speaking alongside Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, that he believed the changes would also benefit NATO.
Kaczynski and Blaszczak presented a plan to increase the defense budget further and to more than double the size of the military to 250,000 soldiers, up from the current 110,000. The changes do not involve a reinstatement of compulsory military service.
Kaczynski also said Poland hopes to strengthen its forces by buying U.S.-produced military equipment but would also look at European-made weapons.
Some opposition lawmakers criticized the plans, noting that they come from the ruling Law and Justice party, which they said repeatedly has weakened the military.
“It doesn’t look good,” said Cezary Tomczyk, a lawmaker with the centrist Civic Platform party. “Who purged the army of generals, colonels and majors? Who stopped the modernization of the Polish army?”
The plan to strengthen the army comes as Poland faces heavy migration pressure from Belarus. Warsaw accuses the Belarusian regime of President Alexander Lukashenko of encouraging migrants from the Mideast, Africa and elsewhere to seek entry to the EU through Poland.
It also comes as Poland finds itself increasingly at odds with its EU partners, with a conflict over changes to Polish courts — which the EU sees as an attack on judicial independence — escalating this month. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the Financial Times in comments published Monday that if the EU withholds funds to Poland over rule of law issues, it would be like starting World War III.
In a separate political development, Morawiecki announced changes to his Cabinet on Tuesday, among them new appointees to head the climate ministry, the agriculture ministry and the ministry of technology and development. Some observers said the changes involve the departures of some Morawiecki allies.
Poland has reacted to the migrant crisis by declaring a state of emergency along the border with Belarus. It has also been fortifying the border with razor wire and has deployed soldiers to help border guards. The government also plans to construct a high permanent barrier with motion sensors.
Polish border guards have also been pushing migrants back across the border, including some families with children. A new Polish law took effect Tuesday that legalizes the pushbacks.
Human rights officials have criticized Poland’s state of emergency while the UN refugee agency has said that the new legislation “undermines the fundamental right to seek asylum.”
I hope we have enough rocks to equip them all.
German military is currently relatively small so it’s a great time for some payback. After we take them down we can invade Czech Republic as a vengeance for Turów. Then we can use German and Czech industrial base for building more potential and after we sign alliance with China we can together invade Russia. Next we can simply absorb every small country in Central and Eastern Europe. Rest of Western Europe and Scandinavia should not be a problem. Then continuing our alliance with China we will challenge USA. Last chapter is battle between Poland and China for world dominance.
That’s how i see it.
/sarcasm
Aha. Go on.
For anyone that didn’t read. Polish army isn’t in a good shape ( thanks to PIS) and all of our focus is currently on the border with Belarus, and defending it from illegal imigrants and provocations.
No need to worry in case you treated our PM spewing some nonsense about WW3 seriously
Good, even if 250k soldiers could be a bit too much (also considering it’s more than double than the actual number)
Ofc they do, they’re pissed
As an American who’s only been watching from a distance, WTH is Poland up to? Moving further and further right, distancing themselves from the EU, and now this?
Smart. Poland knows not to trust it’s neighbors like Germany, Russia, or France. Never know when one of them will go to shit (again).
So happy to have these guys in NATO
Poland strong
Berlin will be Polish. Prussia is going to come back but it will be polish this time around.
16 comments
This will include increasing the number of regular troops to 250 000, Territorial Defense Force to 50 000, creation of a ‘Cyberspace Defense Force’ and more.
[More info in Polish](https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/kaczynski-i-blaszczak-przedstawili-ustawe-o-obronie-ojczyzny-chcesz-pokoju-szykuj/ve3rr52,79cfc278)
So are they trying to protect themselves from migrants, or Russia? Because I’m kind of confused.
Also, question for people knowledgeable on Polish politics.
>Jaroslaw Kaczynski
>Most powerful politician in Poland
Why is the Deputy PM the most powerful man in the country? Is it like a Putin/Medvedev situation?
Edit: Ah yes, downvoted for asking for clarification. Stay class r/Europe
First they start demanding reparations from Germany (again) now this? They might be up to something.
Chef, lead us to ~~Kovno~~ Minsk and Moscow!
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s ruling party leader presented plans Tuesday for a bill to “defend the fatherland,” legislation he said is aimed at “radically” strengthening the military as the country faces migration pressure from its eastern neighbor Belarus.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who holds the position of deputy prime minister but is undisputedly the most powerful politician in Poland, said the bill is needed due to a deteriorating international situation and also to Poland’s geopolitical location. Examples he gave included neighboring “Russia’s imperial ambitions” and the hybrid warfare being waged by Belarus against Poland and other European Union nations using migrants.
“If we want to avoid the worst, that is war, we have to act according to the old rule: ‘If you want peace, prepare for war,’” Kaczynski said at a news conference in Warsaw.
He argued that, as a country which lies on the eastern flank of the European Union and NATO, Poland must have a serious deterrent force and the “ability to effectively defend itself for a long time on its own.”
He noted NATO decisions take time to implement.
The bill, which still needs approval from parliament and the president, is aimed at replacing an existing one from 1967. At that time Poland was a member of Warsaw Pact eastern military alliance, under Moscow’s control. Since 1999 it has been a member of NATO, and is regularly cited as one of the few alliance members that invest at least 2% of its GDP in defense.
Kaczynski said, speaking alongside Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, that he believed the changes would also benefit NATO.
Kaczynski and Blaszczak presented a plan to increase the defense budget further and to more than double the size of the military to 250,000 soldiers, up from the current 110,000. The changes do not involve a reinstatement of compulsory military service.
Kaczynski also said Poland hopes to strengthen its forces by buying U.S.-produced military equipment but would also look at European-made weapons.
Some opposition lawmakers criticized the plans, noting that they come from the ruling Law and Justice party, which they said repeatedly has weakened the military.
“It doesn’t look good,” said Cezary Tomczyk, a lawmaker with the centrist Civic Platform party. “Who purged the army of generals, colonels and majors? Who stopped the modernization of the Polish army?”
The plan to strengthen the army comes as Poland faces heavy migration pressure from Belarus. Warsaw accuses the Belarusian regime of President Alexander Lukashenko of encouraging migrants from the Mideast, Africa and elsewhere to seek entry to the EU through Poland.
It also comes as Poland finds itself increasingly at odds with its EU partners, with a conflict over changes to Polish courts — which the EU sees as an attack on judicial independence — escalating this month. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the Financial Times in comments published Monday that if the EU withholds funds to Poland over rule of law issues, it would be like starting World War III.
In a separate political development, Morawiecki announced changes to his Cabinet on Tuesday, among them new appointees to head the climate ministry, the agriculture ministry and the ministry of technology and development. Some observers said the changes involve the departures of some Morawiecki allies.
Poland has reacted to the migrant crisis by declaring a state of emergency along the border with Belarus. It has also been fortifying the border with razor wire and has deployed soldiers to help border guards. The government also plans to construct a high permanent barrier with motion sensors.
Polish border guards have also been pushing migrants back across the border, including some families with children. A new Polish law took effect Tuesday that legalizes the pushbacks.
Human rights officials have criticized Poland’s state of emergency while the UN refugee agency has said that the new legislation “undermines the fundamental right to seek asylum.”
I hope we have enough rocks to equip them all.
German military is currently relatively small so it’s a great time for some payback. After we take them down we can invade Czech Republic as a vengeance for Turów. Then we can use German and Czech industrial base for building more potential and after we sign alliance with China we can together invade Russia. Next we can simply absorb every small country in Central and Eastern Europe. Rest of Western Europe and Scandinavia should not be a problem. Then continuing our alliance with China we will challenge USA. Last chapter is battle between Poland and China for world dominance.
That’s how i see it.
/sarcasm
Aha. Go on.
For anyone that didn’t read. Polish army isn’t in a good shape ( thanks to PIS) and all of our focus is currently on the border with Belarus, and defending it from illegal imigrants and provocations.
No need to worry in case you treated our PM spewing some nonsense about WW3 seriously
Good, even if 250k soldiers could be a bit too much (also considering it’s more than double than the actual number)
Ofc they do, they’re pissed
As an American who’s only been watching from a distance, WTH is Poland up to? Moving further and further right, distancing themselves from the EU, and now this?
Smart. Poland knows not to trust it’s neighbors like Germany, Russia, or France. Never know when one of them will go to shit (again).
So happy to have these guys in NATO
Poland strong
Berlin will be Polish. Prussia is going to come back but it will be polish this time around.