In June, the Club of Three held a special session on European defence in Warsaw, for substantive exchanges with Europeans – the Polish government and Polish policy experts and citizens – who need no convincing about the urgency of addressing the threat posed by Russia. A major priority was to learn from the experiences of Poles and other Europeans in the front line of the current conflict.
Over the course of 36 hours and six intensive sessions, participants took stock of collective efforts to defend Ukraine and deter Russian aggression – not just there but elsewhere around Europe.
The session was attended by 60 senior representatives from government, politics, business, the military and academia in Poland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and other European countries. Particular attention was paid to protecting Europe and NATO’s Eastern flank, to the role of Poland, and to the scope for closer cooperation between our four countries.
Six months after the Club of Three Plenary in Paris, there were now reasons to be more hopeful for Ukraine. France, Germany and the United Kingdom were reminded of the need to “stay the course”. We heard in very clear terms that Western Europe’s culture of negotiation and compromise would always be interpreted as weakness by Moscow.
The meeting concluded that Europe urgently needed to:
*Take full note of the changing relationship between the U.S and Europe
*Develop greater societal resilience to withstand Russian aggression
*Fix the gaps in NATO’s military capabilities and posture now, not later
*Move towards a more Europeanised NATO
_____________________________________________________________
Participants included: Miguel Berger (German Ambassador to Poland); Hans Christoph Atzpodien (BDSV); Tobias Cremer MEP; Lt. Gen. Karol Dymanowski (Polish Armed Forces); Justyna Gotkowska (OSW); Ruth Harris (RAND Europe); Trevor Cayless (Babcock International); Jacek Czaputowicz (University of Warsaw); Étienne de Poncins (French Ambassador to Poland); General (Ret.) Sir Christopher Deverell; Philippe Errera (Safran); Mikołaj Firlej (Expeditions Fund); Didier Gondallier de Tugny (MBDA); Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger (MSC); Paweł Kowal (Sejm); Tomasz Łekarski (Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs); Pierre Lévy (IHEDN); Major General (Ret.) Veiko-Vello Palm (Frankenburg Technologies); Frédéric Petit MP; Professor Katarzyna Pisarska (Warsaw Security Forum); Dame Melinda Simmons (British Ambassador to Poland); Colonel Marc Varenholz (German Embassy Warsaw); Major General (Ret.) Jean-Marc Vigilant (EuroDéfense-France); Boleslaw Wozniak (Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry); Oksana Antonenko (European University Institute)
