Prime Minister published the following
statement with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk:
Well Donald, thanks very much – it's great to be here with
you.
And I've come directly from visiting British troops stationed in
North East Poland…
…where they serve alongside your Polish Armed Forces, guarding
NATO's eastern flank.
And it is a reminder of the incredible strength of our
relationship.
We are… sojusznicy na zawsze.
Allies for the long term.
We will never forget in Britain that it was Polish pilots that
gave their lives to protect our country in the Battle of
Britain.
And today we're proud to stand together as NATO allies…
…two of Europe's biggest military powers…
… two of Ukraine's firmest friends.
And Donald, I want to thank you – and President Duda - for your
leadership in supporting Ukraine.
We have stood beside them for two years…
…but this is the moment for us, militarily, to go further.
And today I have announced a further half a billion pounds of
additional support for Ukraine…
…to provide more help on the battlefield and defend against the
relentless Russian bombardment.
And together we call on all our partners to look again at what
more they can do.
That includes acting now to unlock Russia's frozen assets, which
you and I have discussed.
And I also want to thank you for being so clear sighted on the
rising threats that are facing our continent.
And again, on this issue we're of one mind.
And today I announced an historic uplift in UK defence spending
to meet those threats…
…to a new baseline of 2.5% of GDP.
It's the biggest strengthening of our national defence since the
end of the Cold War.
Because it's time for us to re-arm.
And across Europe, I think Poland and the UK are part of a
growing wave of countries that are taking greater responsibility
for our collective security.
Poland is spending more of its GDP on defence than any NATO ally
in Europe.
And with today's announcement, the UK will be spending more in
cash terms than any NATO ally in Europe.
And together we're both firing up our defence industrial
capacity.
We're building new frigates here in Poland.
And as you said we're delivering a next generation air
defence system to help defend your skies.
And as a result of our conversations I am pleased to say we have
strengthened our cooperation in all the different formats so that
we can work together on this crucial issue of air defence.
I can also announce that next year we will be deploying RAF
Typhoons here as well, emphasising how important we take this
issue – and we want to help police Poland's skies.
Air defence is critical and the UK wants to support Poland and
work closely with you to do that.
We're also deploying over 16,000 troops here as part of the NATO
exercise Steadfast Defender.
So I'm proud that the UK is a partner of Poland and remains at
the heart of European security.
Because that's good for our shared security, and it's also good
for our prosperity.
I was pleased to note that our trade has doubled over the last
few years reaching now £30bn.
UK firms are investing a lot in Poland in defence, healthcare,
infrastructure, and again today we talked about deepening our
energy partnership …
… And I'm glad that we've tripled UK export finance – support for
Polish companies to buy goods and services from the UK from £5bn
to £15bn in financial support. That's the the most generous offer
to made to any partner.
And again is demonstration of our close cooperation.
And as you said we're also working together to tackle illegal
migration – which Putin and Lukashenko have sought to
weaponise.
And that's why we sent our Royal Engineers to help secure your
border.
And why we're joining forces with others across Europe to smash
the trafficking gangs.
An there is, as you said, so much that unites us.
And there is an incredible affinity between our peoples.
But, I know Donald, from our conversations, that we have
something else in common…
…that we are united by our admiration for one of Europe's great
leaders.
I'm talking of course about Margaret Thatcher.
She was the first British Prime Minister to visit Poland back in
1988.
But Donald knows that, because you were there to meet her at the
Gdańsk shipyard!
Just to conclude, in her speech during that visit she described,
precisely, the challenge before us today.
She said: “experience teaches us that freedom incurs
responsibility.”
And as ever, she was right.
And I'm pleased that together we are meeting that
responsibility.
