Wadephul says Russia targets all of Europe as Tusk urges tougher sanctions

Wadephul on Russian pressure across Europe

German foreign minister Johann Wadephul spoke at a panel at the Warsaw Security Forum on Tuesday, 13 October, alongside Polish deputy prime minister and foreign minister Radosław Sikorski. At a briefing afterwards, Wadephul said Europe is in Russia's crosshairs, a pressure he said is visible in Ukraine and in a drone attack plot detected in August at Leipzig airport, which Germany attributes to Russia. He said the arrests made so far show that cooperation between countries works, and that Russian attacks will push European societies closer together rather than divide them. Wadephul said Europe would consistently use all available legal instruments, while each state must also consider individually what more it can do. He added that the government plans to widen the jurisdiction of the Federal Intelligence Service so it can act earlier against perpetrators of such crimes, and that all civil defence must be reorganised.

Tusk and Sinkevičius on sanctions

Prime Minister Donald Tusk met Lithuanian prime minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in Warsaw on Tuesday, 13 October. At a joint press conference, Tusk said there is not even the smallest crack between Poland and Lithuania on the major geopolitical questions, including EU unity, NATO and Russian aggression. Both leaders stressed the need to strengthen the defence of the NATO eastern flank, and Tusk thanked Lithuania for its very consistent stance toward Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Tusk said both countries would present a joint and very clear position on Russia sanctions at the EU summit in Brussels, which starts on Thursday, 15 October.

We are at a crucial moment. This war may be decided in the next few, perhaps a dozen or so months.

Tusk said he would propose in Brussels that Europe not give up its instruments of pressure on the Russian-Ukrainian front and inside Russia. Sinkevičius said it is obvious to everyone that Russia remains the main threat to European security, and that hybrid threats in European countries are becoming more aggressive.

Defence spending and the SAFE loans

After meeting EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius, Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland will push for higher defence spending, investment in the European arms industry and supply chain independence. He criticised the Irish presidency's proposed EU budget, which he said does not give security and defence a worthy place, calling it unacceptable for Poland. The two men also discussed possible increases to national allocations from the SAFE instrument, since some participating states will not use their full shares. Kosiniak-Kamysz said the Polish government has not yet decided and will discuss it, and that he would talk with finance minister Andrzej Domański about using the funds.

We do not have a decision from our government yet, we will discuss it.

In September, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said unused SAFE money would go to Ukrainian defence projects. In a speech to the European Parliament she announced a joint defence programme with Ukraine, financed from unused SAFE funds, of between 10 and 20 billion euro.

Military mobility and migration rules

At the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday, 12 October, the supreme allied commander in Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, presented a 'strategy of victory'. Kubilius, who spoke to TVN24 BiS, described a division of labour in which NATO draws up military plans and the EU and its industrial base help member states build capabilities. He said Poland took a loan of over 50 billion euro from SAFE for its arms industry, which he described as strong leadership. Kubilius said the Commission proposes a package to create a military Schengen, because some countries want troop movement requests submitted at least 45 days in advance.

We are introducing completely new regulations, mandatory for all member states. These permits should be issued within three days.

According to Do Rzeczy, the Commission president also said Brussels intends to change rules on crisis response to organised migratory pressure on external borders, a change Poland had long demanded because of pressure on the Belarus border. The article notes that the Ceuta case in Spain involved a sudden influx of migrants, and the changes are meant to give member states flexibility without requiring identical responses.

Starlink station arson and Russian services

Polish media reported that Tusk also addressed the detention of Turkish citizens suspected of setting fire to a Starlink satellite communications base station in Mazovia. Tusk said everything indicates they acted on the orders of Russian services. Tusk also pointed to good cooperation between Poland and Lithuania in energy.