Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, who is Poland's minister for European affairs, made the statement in an interview with state news agency PAP on Tuesday.
‘Trans-Atlantic bond' is 'of key importance to Europe’
He noted that Polish President Andrzej Duda last month described "the trans-Atlantic bond" as being “of key importance to Europe” during a meeting with US President Joe Biden.
Szynkowski vel Sęk told the PAP news agency that, "in line with this assessment," the government would in May adopt a resolution to affirm that forging closer trans-Atlantic ties would be “the main theme” of Poland’s EU presidency in 2025.
He added that preparations for Warsaw’s six-month presidency of the European bloc were “already under way.”
The Polish minister for European affairs said: “Obviously, we are drawing up an ambitious agenda and the issue mentioned by President Duda will definitely constitute an important part of the Polish presidency.”
EU 'must not compete with NATO’
According to Szynkowski vel Sęk, the EU should be “an economic and political supplement to NATO when it comes to the security of member countries.”
He stressed that the European bloc "must not compete with NATO,” which he said was “the pillar of our security.”
Countering 'the threat from Russia'
Szynkowski vel Sęk added that the Polish presidency would also focus on "economic matters" and “the current geopolitical challenges, the biggest of which is the threat from Russia.”
He told PAP: “We can continue the policy of sanctions. We’ll see if by 2025 we’ll still be dealing with such an aggressive policy on the part of Russia. We hope that the situation will change.”
However, “regardless of Russia’s approach towards neighbouring countries, the challenges facing the EU remain the same,” he said.
'We must constantly strengthen our security'
Szynkowski vel Sęk declared: “We must constantly strengthen our security, our resilience … This will definitely form an important aspect of our presidency, including how to become independent in various areas from Russian sources of energy.”
He also said in the interview that "taking the helm of the EU at such a difficult time for the Union, will be a huge challenge for Poland.”
He announced that a "special government commissioner" would be appointed in the coming days to oversee the preparations, the PAP news agency reported.
Tuesday is day 377 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP