Theresa May is doing her best to strengthen the UK’s ties with Poland, during her visit to this country, the prime minister is going to announce plans for enhanced defence and security co-operation.
UnitedKingdomandPolandaresharing history and values, so new defence treaty proposed by Mrs May will definitely be a “powerful symbol” of co-operation, the PM will tell her Polish counterpart. In fact, Poland matters greatly to the UK after Brexit, moreover, the UK will also back an initiative to blunt Russian propaganda in the region.
No 10 said the treaty would be only the second such agreement the UK has with a European ally, after France. It will provide a framework for enhanced co-operation in training, information sharing, defence procurement and joint exercises between the Nato partners.
Mrs May’s trip comes after she sacked one of her closest allies, Damian Green, after he admitted making “misleading” statements about the discovery of pornography on his parliamentary computer.
Senior members of the cabinet, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Chancellor Philip Hammond and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, will join her on the visit.
Prime minister’s visit comes hours after the EU announced disciplinary measures against Poland, accusing the country of undermining the independence of its judges. According to the statement of the Foreign Office, PM would raise her concerns with the Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki.
Daniel Kawczynski, a Conservative MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Poland, spoke to Mrs May ahead of her trip and said he does not expect her to publicly condemn Poland.
He told Radio 4’s Today programme:
“It’s very, very important for the prime minister to back our Polish allies.
“This is a very important trading partner for the UK and a key Nato ally of ours.”
