His remarks came after a meeting in Warsaw with Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner responsible for defence and space.
Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasised the significance of EU defence discussions held in the Polish capital on Wednesday.
These included an informal meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, attended by defence ministers from across the bloc.
A central focus of the talks—held as part of Poland's presidency of the Council of the European Union—was the EU's new defence roadmap, outlined in a document known as the Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030.
'Europe has finally woken up'
The Polish minister highlighted what he called a breakthrough in the inclusion of two key projects in the White Paper: the Eastern Shield and the Baltic Defence Line.
Together with efforts to strengthen Finland's border with Russia, these initiatives aim to boost the EU's resilience against the Russian threat and counter what Kosiniak-Kamysz described as the Kremlin’s aggressive posture.
Another critical element of the emerging EU defence strategy is increased investment in military programmes, according to Kosiniak-Kamysz.
He told reporters that the European Commission has raised the bloc's defence budget to EUR 150 billion.
"Europe has finally woken up," Kosiniak-Kamysz said. "There will be joint weapons procurement, and defence spending will no longer be counted as part of a country’s budget deficit."
Kubilius acknowledged the importance of the White Paper’s proposals and declared that "implementation is now key."
He praised Poland’s commitment to strengthening its national military potential and suggested that other EU allies should follow its example.
EU Security Forum in Warsaw
Detailed provisions of the White Paper were discussed during a security forum accompanying the informal EU defence ministerial.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said at the forum's opening session that while "it is the responsibility of politicians to ensure peace, armies must be ready to defend it."
'Peace does not defend itself'
He added that "peace does not defend itself," but instead "requires strength, courage, funding and investment."
Kubilius told the EU Security Forum that hybrid warfare, disinformation, "attacks on Baltic Sea cables," and arson incidents were on the rise across the bloc, alongside "the weaponisation of migrants at the EU's eastern border—in Poland, but also in Lithuania, Latvia and Finland."
'Hybrid attacks could soon be followed by military ones'
"If we do nothing, these hybrid attacks could soon be followed by military ones," he warned.
White Paper for European Defence Readiness
The Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030 opens with a clear-eyed assessment of the strategic background: "Europe faces an acute and growing threat. The only way we can ensure peace is to have the readiness to deter those who would do us harm."
The document further says: "We have many strong foundations such as our potential to unleash vast resources and latent technological and industrial power. But we are also starting from a position in which our defence readiness has been weakened by decades of under-investment."
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP