Andrzej Duda made the remark after a summit of the so-called Arraiolos Group of countries in Valletta, Malta, on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Arraiolos Group brings together heads of state from EU member countries that have parliamentary rather than presidential models of government, according to officials.
Valletta summit
The get-together in Valletta consisted of two plenary sessions, during which 12 presidents discussed threats to NATO’s eastern and southern flanks amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, as well as the EU’s cohesion policy and the latest challenges facing the bloc, reporters were told.
'We need the strength of the EU'
At a joint news conference afterwards, the Polish president said: “Above all, we discussed the effectiveness of the EU, that is, of the community to which we all belong, and the strength of the EU, the strength that is so important.”
He added: “If we are to express our voice as a community and exert influence in situations such as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, in order to counteract this aggression and to counteract acts of hostility and aggression like this in the future; to protect women and girls in Iran and in other places around the world where it is necessary, where people are subjected to aggression or persecuted … then we need the strength of the EU.”
“And today we talked about this strength and about ways to achieve it,” Duda told reporters.
‘EU’s unified stance on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an undoubted success’
He went on to say: “As the president of a country that is Ukraine’s neighbour, from the very start I note with satisfaction the European stance, the EU stance towards Ukraine.”
He added that the bloc “firmly condemned Russia’s aggression” and adopted “successive sanctions packages” even though “several member countries had done very serious business with Russia and in Russia.”
The Polish president stressed: “The EU’s unified stance on Russia's aggression against Ukraine is an undoubted success of the bloc.”
“Can more be done? Yes, certainly. I would say that more has to be done,” Duda urged.
In addition to the Polish head of state, Thursday’s summit was attended by the presidents of Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia and Greece, among others, the PAP news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, Duda held bilateral talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
On Wednesday evening, he met with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
During his two-day visit to Malta, the Polish president was accompanied by First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda, who held talks with first ladies from other European countries, officials said.
Thursday was day 225 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, prezydent.pl