Speaking to Poland’s PAP news agency, France's AFP and Germany's DPA, Sikorski said the European Union had also adopted a series of tools to boost its resilience and security under Poland’s rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Poland has held the EU presidency from January 1 and is wrapping it up on June 30.
During this six-month term, Polish officials have coordinated Council meetings, led negotiations among member states, and helped shape legislative priorities.
Sikorski called it a successful presidency, despite global instability caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine and the violent conflict in the Middle East.
Among the key achievements, Sikorski highlighted the EU’s approval of a EUR 150 billion SAFE instrument providing defense loans, and a joint member-state position backing the EUR 1.5 billion European Defence Industrial Programme (EDIP).
He noted that these initiatives reflected a broader shift in Brussels, where Polish arguments about Russian aggression “have simply been accepted.”
His remarks came shortly after the NATO summit in The Hague, where allied leaders reaffirmed their collective defense obligations under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
In their final declaration, they identified Russia as a long-term threat to Euro-Atlantic security.
Sikorski also cited further results of Poland’s term: the adoption of the 16th and 17th rounds of EU sanctions against Russia, with a likely agreement on an 18th package before the end of June.
This next round would target Russia’s Nord Stream pipelines, additional banks and 447 tankers that are said to be part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” used to circumvent sanctions.
Other developments during the Polish presidency included Germany amending its constitution to allow increased defense spending and aid for Ukraine, as well as the European Commission publishing a white paper on defense and launching the ReArm Europe initiative.
The EU also began simplifying legal and administrative rules for defense procurement, strengthened its fight against disinformation, and developed strategies to counter Russian hybrid warfare.
On the security front, Sikorski said the EU tightened visa rules and pushed for limitations on Russian diplomats’ movement within the Schengen zone.
Working with the Czech Republic, Poland advocated that Russian envoys be restricted to the country of their accreditation.
This, Sikorski argued, would improve counterintelligence oversight and help prevent hybrid threats, including acts of sabotage.
Russian state and non-state actors have been linked to numerous acts of arson and other violence in several countries of the EU.
He acknowledged one major area where no breakthrough occurred: Hungary’s continued veto blocked the formal opening of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine.
Sikorski also mentioned the EU mechanism that supported evacuations from the Middle East, which he described as mostly national efforts by Poland but assisted by Brussels.
“We evacuated European Union citizens,” he said, “and for that, I received thanks in both Brussels and The Hague.”
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP