Prime Ministers of Finland and Poland agree in Warsaw to deepen their countries’ cooperation
The current border situation, the situation in Ukraine, and Europe’s security and defence were the main topics when Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo met Poland’s new Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on Friday 16 February. Besides security and defence, Prime Minister Orpo drew attention to other policy priorities which Finland would like to see on the EU’s common agenda for the 2024–2029 European Parliamentary term.
At the press conference held after the meeting, Prime Minister Petter Orpo underlined that Europe must make decisions fast to strengthen the security of Europe.
“We Europeans must take greater responsibility for own security. Finland and Poland understand this well, given our proximity to Russia. Finland joined NATO in April last year. We will further strengthen our own and our Allies’ defence and readiness,” Prime Minister Orpo said.
Prime Minister Orpo stressed that Europe must rapidly strengthen its defence industry and ramp up its ammunition production.
“This would enable Europe to continue its support to Ukraine. A strong national defence builds deterrence, ensuring the security of Europe as a whole,” Prime Minister Orpo said.
“Finland has decided to double our ammunition production, I see a lot of potential for defence industry cooperation with Poland,” Prime Minister Orpo said.
The Prime Ministers discussed the current border situation and Russia’s actions. The Finnish and Polish borders are under a hybrid attack where third-country nationals are ushered to cross the border. The situation at the border between Poland and Belarus has been going on for years.
“Finland is well prepared for hybrid influence activities, and we are working to further improve our preparedness,” Prime Minister Orpo said.
“It is evident that we need EU-level tools to prevent and manage situations where migration is instrumentalised against us. We see the situation in much the same light in Finland and Poland,” said Prime Minister Orpo.
The Prime Ministers stressed the need to revitalise the EU’s external border regions. In Finland, this would mean Eastern and Northern Finland. Finland and Poland are facing similar challenges in this respect, and they intend to raise the subject of revitalising border regions at EU level.
At the press conference, Prime Minister Orpo said that Finland welcomes the change of direction in Poland following the appointment of the Government of Prime Minister Tusk.
“The rule of law is the foundation for everything. It is a condition for mutual trust between EU Member States and an essential element of a functioning single market. We appreciate that our important EU partner is actively striving to address our concerns about the rule of law,” said Prime Minister Orpo.
Poland has taken a strong role at EU tables under the leadership of Prime Minister Tusk. An example of this is Poland’s efforts to deepen its cooperation with the Nordic and Baltic countries.
Inquiries: Tuomas Tikkanen, Special Adviser (EU Affairs), tel. +358 40 523 5768 and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 07 33, Prime Minister’s Office