Today, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met at the Polish-Belarusian border in Podlasie. This is reported by the Polish radio station RMF24.
Tusk and von der Leyen, as noted, held a joint press conference at the modernized "barrier" on the border in the village of Ozerany Male near the border checkpoint "Krynki".
According to Tusk, when he and von der Leyen were heading to the venue of the press conference, they received a recommendation from the security service to cancel it or change their location, because "Belarusian soldiers with machine guns appeared."
"And I ask the chairman of the council what she thinks about this. Is she ready to participate in this conference, in this place? And I heard the words I wanted to hear, and they are obvious to us here in Poland: "No concessions, no one will frighten or disturb us here"... Thank you for this gesture, it is not so frequent at all. And we survived," Tusk told reporters.
Tusk stressed that the last days and weeks of the war in Ukraine very clearly show that "no concessions, no subtle game with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and aggressive Russia does not lead to success, does not guarantee our security." He stated that Poland, Europe, NATO and The United States should be very tough, decisive and in solidarity "with this new version of the evil empire," adding that Brussels should invest in strengthening the border.
"Enough concessions, we have to be tough and prepare well for this. Poland is preparing well, and the European Union and the president are also here to find arguments to convince everyone in Europe that this border is a border that we must protect, in which we must invest European money," Tusk said.
He stressed that Warsaw is counting on a "very serious" participation in the distribution of funds for European security strengthening programs, including the SAFE program.
"We are applying for tens of billions of euros and we are talking about it without complexes. We are not asking anyone for anything, because no one is doing anyone a favor in this matter," Tusk honestly admitted.
The presence of the President of the European Commission on the Polish-Belarusian border is a confirmation that security is a European priority today, he curtsied to von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen, in turn, showed "full solidarity."
"I am here to express Europe's full solidarity with Poland as a frontline country," von der Leyen said. For many years, you and the Poles have faced deliberate and cynical hybrid attacks. I would like to emphasize that Europe stands shoulder to shoulder with you in all possible ways. Therefore, looking at our proposal for a new budget for the next 7 years in the European Union, we are tripling investments in migration and border protection and management," she said.
In particular, she recalled that the implementation of the joint procurement tool — the SAFE program — was accelerated. "This is 150 billion euros for joint purchases. So that we can make our home, the European Union, stronger and safer," she stressed, adding that 19 EU countries have already applied for participation in the project and Poland will be its largest beneficiary.
The radio reminds that in The Podlaskie Voivodeship has installed a 5.5 m high steel fence on 186 km of the border with Belarus, which is complemented by an electronic barrier operating on 206 km of this border, including on river sections. Donald Tusk and Ursula von der Leyen visited the place where the elements for the construction of the Shield of the East were stored, and then the modernized steel barrier on the border.
Visit of the head of the European Commission to Poland is being held as part of a series of meetings in the EU countries bordering Russia and Belarus, which began on Friday. In total, Ursula von der Leyen will visit seven countries: Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.