“A long-term re-armament of Europe is necessary to counter Russian ambitions,” stated Poland’s foreign minister. Sikorski emphasized that Poland is now recognizing the need for re-armament by prioritizing the production of large volumes of low-tech equipment, such as shells.
“We allowed all those production facilities to be closed down after the end of the Cold War,” Sikorski lamented. “It requires financial investment to encourage companies to maintain production lines in reserve. Unfortunately, we did not allocate the necessary funds, attributing it to the peace dividend. In hindsight, it appears to be a mistake.”
“The fact that Europe is trailing behind and that the EU’s defense, technological, and industrial base has suffered from years of underinvestment is evident,” the minister concluded.
Sikorski was speaking to The Guardian.
