Poland’s current national security strategy dates from 2020, before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Following Tuesday's National Security Council meeting at the presidential palace in Warsaw, Bartosz Grodecki, head of President Karol Nawrocki's National Security Bureau (BBN), said work on the document had been completed and it was ready for government approval.
"Our work at the National Security Bureau and the President's Office is complete. The document has been agreed upon," Grodecki said.
He described the strategy as the product of cooperation between the president’s office and the government, and expressed hope that Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Cabinet would approve it at its next meeting.
The meeting also exposed continuing divisions over the Constitutional Tribunal, Poland’s highest court for deciding whether legislation complies with the constitution.
Marcin Przydacz, head of the president’s International Policy Bureau, accused judges involved in the latest developments at the tribunal of violating criminal law.
He described Tuesday's gathering of judges, led by Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, as a "farce" and challenged the legitimacy of its decisions. He alleged that those involved could face up to 20 years in prison for unlawfully taking control of a constitutional institution.
The judges had voted to recognize eight members as sufficient to conduct proceedings, adopted a resolution concerning the tribunal’s 2027 budget and selected judges for disciplinary proceedings involving tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański.
The confrontation follows a decision by judges elected during the current parliamentary term to place Korwin-Piotrowska in charge of the tribunal and suspend its chief and his deputy.
President Karol Nawrocki has condemned the move as a forcible takeover of a constitutional institution.
Tusk, meanwhile, has defended his government’s actions, saying the state must be capable of enforcing justice.
After Tuesday’s meeting, Tusk offered to meet Nawrocki privately this week to discuss how to reduce tensions. The president’s spokesman, Rafał Leśkiewicz, confirmed that the invitation had been received but said no date had been set.
The National Security Council also discussed plans for a permanent US military base in Poland. Przydacz urged Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz to accelerate negotiations, saying too much time had been lost.
He also warned that the threat of Russian hybrid operations, including sabotage, cyberattacks and other activities intended to destabilize Poland, remained high.
"Russia was, is and will remain a threat," he said, quoting Nawrocki.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR/PAP