Feb 19, 2026, 5:48 p.mFeb 19, 2026, 5:48 p.m
In the debate about a European nuclear deterrent, Poland spoke out against going it alone without the USA. «All decisions should be made together. We are in an alliance with the USA, with France, with Germany and Great Britain,” said Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz in a joint interview with the German Press Agency, the PAP and AFP. NATO is an organism that should be strengthened, not weakened, through transatlantic cooperation.
Poland’s Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wants to make decisions together.Image: keystone
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said at the Munich Security Conference that he was holding talks with French President Emmanuel Macron about a common European deterrent. NATO’s nuclear deterrent is currently based primarily on US nuclear weapons, of which it is estimated that around 100 are still stationed in Europe.
Poland’s head of state Nawrocki wants his own atomic bomb
Poland’s right-wing conservative President Karol Nawrocki spoke out on Monday in favor of his country’s own nuclear weapons program. “The path to a Polish nuclear potential – with all respect for international regulations – is the path we should take,” said Nawrocki in a television interview.
With regard to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Kosiniak-Kamysz said that his country was bound by international agreements in this regard. However, within the framework of nuclear sharing, they are ready to cooperate with all NATO states. “Poland should find its place in these formats.” As early as spring 2024, then-President Andrzej Duda said that Poland was ready for the stationing of US nuclear weapons should NATO deem this necessary. NATO said at the time that there were no plans to expand the deployment of nuclear weapons.
No competition between the EU and NATO
Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz also spoke out against giving the EU more military decision-making authority. “I don’t allow the idea of competition between the EU and NATO,” said the politician. NATO has a military mission, while the EU has a development and economic mission. The EU’s task is, among other things, to take care of arms production and the financing of the armies of its member states. (hkl/sda/dpa)