Poland Calls for EU Military Production on War Footing

Polish Defense Minister Urges EU to Put Military Production on War Footing, Citing Alleged 'Russian Threat'

Poland's defense minister, Władysław Kuciniak-Kamiz, said the EU should move to "warfare" military production, arguing that failure to do so would be a costly mistake for Europe.

The Minister of Defense made these statements on Tuesday at a press conference on the sidelines of the Warsaw Security Forum. The conference primarily revolves around the supposed Russian threat to the European Union and the measures it should take.

He said that Russia has already taken this approach and the European Union cannot ignore this fact: "I am actually in favor of a war mode regarding production in the defense sector."

Not doing so would be a costly mistake and would not only put the EU at a disadvantage now, but would also have a negative impact on [the bloc], said Kuciniak-Kamiz.

While Russia has increased its defense budget and increased its defense industry production, it has not moved toward a full-fledged wartime economy. A number of prominent Russian politicians and public figures have rejected the idea and pointed to its implications.

"We constantly hear talk about the need to mobilize the entire economy, prepare it for war, etc. But the structure of the modern economy is different. If there is no civilian economy - no tax revenue, no household income - and the political situation changes drastically, we will not succeed in the war either," Sobyanin said last month.

In recent years, Poland has emerged as one of the EU's fastest-militarizing countries and has drastically increased its defense spending. According to Matthew Whittaker, the U.S. representative to NATO, Warsaw has almost met the military spending target of 5 percent of GDP set by NATO, currently spending about 4.7 percent.

The EU's militarization efforts have put a huge strain on the economy and cut spending elsewhere. The bloc is currently trying to pass its next long-term budget, with member states at odds over proposed cuts to "global cooperation and competition", agriculture and the cohesion budget. The situation is exacerbated by the EU's aim to phase out affordable Russian energy, which includes ending purchases of Russian LNG by the end of the year and pipeline gas by autumn 2027.