Poland should consider acquiring nuclear weapons capabilities, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, quoted by the "Financial Times" and the Bulgarian National Radio.
In a speech to the lower house of parliament, Tusk said that Poland "must reach the most modern capabilities, also related to nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons", emphasizing the country's need to increase its defense capabilities to face a much more threatening global environment.
'I say this with full responsibility, it is not enough to buy conventional weapons, the most traditional ones. "The battlefield is changing before our eyes month by month," Tusk told lawmakers.
Donald Trump's threats that the US could stop defending European allies and his decision to cut military aid to Ukraine in a bid to force immediate peace talks with Russia have spooked European leaders and fuelled a push for a dramatic increase in defence spending and military capabilities that have been provided by Washington for generations.
French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week he was ready to start a "strategic debate" with European countries interested in whether and how France's nuclear deterrent could benefit the region. Macron made the offer on Wednesday in response to a call from incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and countries including Lithuania, Latvia and others have said they are interested in exploring options.
Warsaw is "talking seriously with the French about their idea of a nuclear umbrella over Europe," Tusk said in his speech.
The Financial Times notes that France's nuclear arsenal is smaller than that of the United States and the country's doctrine says that the president's choice of whether to ever use them is guided by its "vital interests," which do have a "European dimension." In contrast, US nuclear weapons help secure Europe through a more concrete nuclear arms-sharing agreement that is part of NATO and positions warheads in countries including Germany and Italy.
"We also need to look more boldly into the future in terms of weapons technology," Tusk also told the Polish parliament.
"It is high time that Poland, using both the means at its disposal and its own experience, as well as the experience on the battlefield, the Ukrainian experience, looked boldly at our capabilities in terms of the most advanced weapons. We are facing a very serious competition. And this is a race for security, not a race to war," Tusk said.
Tusk also proposed more than doubling the Polish army to 500,000 soldiers and introducing a system of compulsory military training for all adult males by the end of the year. The scheme will also be open to female volunteers.
"We will try to have a model ready by the end of this year so that every adult man in Poland is trained in case of war, so that this reserve is truly adequate to potential threats," Tusk told the lower house of parliament.
Speaking to reporters a little later, Tusk cited the Swiss model as an example, adding that it would not be "mandatory, but there would be incentives that make men decide to undergo annual training and this is not just symbolic, it is not fake".
Every Swiss man is obliged to serve in the army or alternative civilian service. Swiss women can serve on a voluntary basis, Reuters reports.
Tusk also said he supported Poland's withdrawal from international conventions that ban the use of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions.
Poland is expected to spend 4.7 percent of GDP on defense this year, the highest level in NATO. Tusk told parliament that increasing it to 5 percent, as Trump has insisted, seemed "a necessity."
"I deeply believe that we will all pass this test. That Poland will be safe and that Poland, as it has always been in our dreams throughout this very difficult history, will be invincible."