President: Strategic security system strengthening finds acceptance
Plans for strategic strengthening of Poland's security system have won the acceptance of the National Security Council (RBN), President Bronislaw Komorowski told a press briefing on Wednesday.
The RBN meeting on Wednesday discussed a government document on strategic strengthening of Poland's security system. The plan encompasses different areas of security and is the result of cooperation with the National Security Bureau (BBN) and the Defence Ministry, among other bodies, the president said.
"It has won acceptance as being appropriate for Poland's capability and emerging threats," Komorowski added. He also mentioned that strengthening the security system included raising defence spending to 2 percent of GDP.
"One of the effects of RBN's (meeting) is the suggestion that we try to make a joint effort, also through contacts with leading opposition forces, to decide on a minimum plan of working together for the strategic strengthening of Poland's defence system," Komorowski also said.
Because implementation of the plan falls on a period that includes presidential and parliamentary elections, the president added that he would "support the possibility of building a broad understanding going beyond a purely coalition-based agreement on defence, to avoid or at least minimise the effects of political and electoral factors on defence and security issues."
"RBN agreed that the priority of all priorities is the idea to build our own anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence in Poland," Komorowski said, adding that the council had also talked about ways of strengthening the security system "using what we have," including non-military uniformed services.
Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said after the meeting that the government plan included measures at different levels, both legislative and involving specific tasks. The plan assumes that security issues will be integrated, he added.
He explained that this meant not looking at security issues from the viewpoint of one ministry but developing cooperation involving the ministries of defence, internal affairs, economy, and infrastructure and development.
Source: PAP