Last week, Donald Trump established the Peace Council, which will maintain order in the Gaza Strip and later, as the US president himself stated, in other parts of the world.
During Thursday's ceremony, the declaration was signed not only by Trump, but also by representatives of 19 other countries, including: Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban and President of Argentina Javier Milei, as well as representatives of Bahrain, Morocco, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.
See also: Peace Council officially established. These are the great absentees
Among the founders there were not many European countries, but also Russia or Belarus, whose invitation caused a lot of controversy, including: in Poland. Trump also invited President Karol Nawrocki to participate in the Peace Council.
Poles say “no” unless…
We decided to ask Poles what they think about Poland's participation in such a body. As a rule, society does not say “no”.
37.3 percent of us support Poland's participation in the Peace Councilof which as many as 26.1 percent answered “definitely yes”, and another 11.2 percent “probably yes.”
36.9% are of the opposite opinion. respondents (22.7 percent “definitely” and 14.2 percent “rather”). About one in four of us cannot answer this question.
However, there is a catch. The above answers concern the question: “Do you think Poland should have Donald Trump's representative on the Peace Council, what if membership was free for us?
Specifically the last part of the question. Donald Trump ordered that joining his organization would cost the equivalent of $1 billion. And here the stairs begin.
If we were to pay to join the Peace Council, support for this body would drop significantly. In such a situation, the answers look like this:
- definitely yes – 10.7 percent
- rather yes – 5.9 percent
- definitely not – 33.7 percent
- probably not – 21.9 percent
- I don't know/it's hard to say – 27.8 percent
If there was no need to pay, the result is 37.3 to 36.9 percent. for supporters of the Peace Council. However, when it comes to paying, we have 16.6 to 55.6 percent.
The difference is colossal and it results from the fact that Poles are not bothered by the potential presence of Russia or Belarus, but by the need to pay USD 1 billion, i.e. the equivalent of PLN 3.6 billion.
See also: Poland will not pay the Peace Council. “We have more important expenses,” says the minister
The survey was conducted on January 23-26, 2026 using the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) method by UCE RESEARCH for Business Insider Polska on a sample of 1,017 Poles aged 18-80.
The government speaks with one voice
Poland has not yet joined Donald Trump's Peace Council. However, this case led to an unexpected rapprochement of the positions of the president and the government in Poland, although it initially aroused tensions.
Karol Nawrocki received a direct invitation from Donald Trump to participate in the Council. He described the proposal as prestigious for Poland, noting, however, that participation in such a group requires a special constitutional procedure.
Despite the initial enthusiasm, the president ultimately adopted the government's strategy, declaring that Poland would not sign the founding declaration without the consent of the parliament.
Donald Tusk and the entire government approached the initiative with caution from the very beginning, placing emphasis on financial security and solidarity with the EU. Tusk emphasized that Poland “cannot be played” and did not intend to spend a billion dollars on the entry feebecause the budget includes more important expenses, such as army modernization.
At the same time, the Prime Minister praised President Nawrocki for implementing the government's suggestions during the talks in Davos and refraining from hasty declarations about joining the Council.
Finance Minister Andrzej Domański initially did not want to take a clear position on the Peace Council. “I'm not saying yes, I'm not saying no,” he simply said.
See also: Will Poland find a billion dollars for Trump? We have a comment
After a few days, however, he emphasized that there was no money in the budget for Poland to join the organization.
