Macron in Poland to boost ties

French president Emanuel Macron visited Poland, where he met with the country’s president Andrzej Duda and prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Macron’s visit is the first by a French head of state in six years. It takes place amid tensions between the EU and Poland over its judicial reforms, as well as over Poland’s decision to buy US-made F-15 fighters, despite EU’s efforts to boost European military cooperation.
Recently, Morawiecki condemned the rise of anti-Americanism in the EU, saying he believes that without the US, the EU would not survive “hybrid attacks from Russia and the growing influence of China”.
However, Macron’s visit is seen as an effort to boost ties between the two countries. Both sides signed an agreement to deepen the two countries’ strategic partnership.
Duda backed Macron’s efforts to increase military cooperation in Europe: “We are going to talk about our participation in the project to build a European tank. We would like to take part in this project”, he said.
When asked about Poland’s new law that EU officials condemned, Macron said that “it’s a European issue, not a bilateral one”, and that “France should lecture no one”.
Poland’s ruling nationalist Law and Justice was criticized by France ever since it came to power in 2015. The party angered France when it decided against a €3.14 billion deal to buy 50 Caracal multipurpose helicopters produced by Airbus.
Poland also refused to agree to EU’s goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, as it currently produces around 80% of its power from coal.