Jan Cienski

Brussels

Senior Policy Editor at POLITICO Europe

Senior Policy Editor, POLITICOEurope, roaming between Brussels and Warsaw. Author of Start-Up Poland. Look at the pix - love bikes.

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Articles

Poland seeks access to nuclear arms and looks to build half-million-man army

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Jan Cienski

6 hours agoPoland announces military training plan for all menWork is under way to make all men in Poland undergo military training, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. In a speech to the Polish parliament, Tusk said the government aimed to give full details in the coming months.
Tusk announces plan to train all Polish men for military service

1 month ago | politico.eu | Jan Cienski

WARSAW — Every man in Poland will undergo military training as part of an effort to build a 500,000-strong military to face off the threat from Russia, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the parliament on Friday. "By the end of the year, we want to have a model ready so that every adult male in Poland is trained for war, and so that this reserve is adequate for possible threats," Tusk said.
Poland’s nationalists stick to Trump like glue ahead of presidential election

1 month ago | politico.eu | Jan Cienski

WARSAW — They donned the MAGA hats. They chanted “Donald Trump!” in the Polish parliament. And the enthusiasm of Poland’s nationalist opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party for the United States president isn’t dimming despite his attacks on Ukraine, his cozying up to Russia and his administration’s denunciations of European democracy. There’s a lot of political mileage in Poland for sticking with Trump — something PiS hopes to capitalize on in May’s presidential election.
Poland spends big on arms to stay friends with Trump

2 months ago | politico.eu | Jan Cienski

WARSAW — Poland is NATO’s top military spender for two reasons: to keep America close and Russia at bay, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz told POLITICO. This year, Poland aims to spend 4.7 percent of gross domestic product on its military, more than any other alliance member. A large portion of that is going to new weapons to modernize and expand Poland’s armed forces: Kosiniak-Kamysz estimated that $55 billion to $60 billion has been spent on American kit.
Biden missile move puts UK and French weapons into play

Nov 18, 2024 | politico.eu | Jan Cienski |Laura Kayali |Jacopo Barigazzi |Emilio Casalicchio

All eyes are on London and Paris after United States President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use American missiles to hit targets inside Russia. France and the United Kingdom have donated their Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles to Kyiv. So far, London has not received permission from the U.S. to allow them to be used to attack targets in Russia, while Paris remains vague about what Ukrainians could do.
Playing with ‘electoral rocket fuel’: How Poland’s Donald Tusk hopes to weaponize migration

Oct 22, 2024 | wei.org.pl | Jan Cienski

Migration often provides an opening for far-right political parties. Poland’s Donald Tusk aims to slam that door shut by snatching the subject for himself. That’s why the centrist prime minister declared that Poland would halt recognizing requests for political asylum, and last week forged a consensus among other EU leaders backing his call that a country can invoke security reasons as justification.
Playing with ‘electoral rocket fuel’: How Poland’s Donald Tusk hopes to weaponize migration

Oct 20, 2024 | politico.eu | Jan Cienski
Poland needs F-35s before dispatching MiG-29s to Ukraine, says minister

Aug 28, 2024 | politico.eu | Joshua Posaner |Jan Cienski

Poland will only consider donating more of its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine once replacement F-35s on order from the United States arrive, said Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. "I know that Ukraine needs many types of weapons, but our partners in Ukraine also need to understand that the Polish state must maintain its capabilities," Kosiniak-Kamysz told a press conference on Tuesday.
Poland’s presidential campaign kicks off - 9 months before the vote

Aug 22, 2024 | politico.eu | Jan Cienski

WARSAW — The campaign to choose Poland’s next president is heating up, even though the election isn’t slated until next May. On paper the office isn’t that powerful. The president does, however, have the ability to block a lot of what the government wants to do.
Disquiet in Germany, Poland over prisoner swap

Aug 2, 2024 | politico.eu | Nette Nöstlinger |Jan Cienski

BERLIN — A day after a historic prisoner swap, Germans are grappling with mixed feelings. In one of the biggest and most complex prisoner swaps since the Cold War, two dozen Americans, Germans and Russian dissidents were released in exchange for eight Russians imprisoned in five different countries. Among the Americans released was Evan Gershkovich, a journalist with the Wall Street Journal.