INTERVIEW Message from Poland, after Nicușor Dan said that Romania is already under the US nuclear umbrella: “We need to be protected by more umbrellas and alliances”

Being in Poland on Thursday, Nicușor Dan avoided giving a clear answer when asked about the invitation under France's nuclear umbrella. “Romania, like all NATO countries, is under the NATO nuclear umbrella provided by the USA,” said the president. Polish historian and diplomat Adam Burakowski says in an interview for the HotNews audience that “nuclear weapons are a strong argument in the dialogue with states that are aggressive.”

We must show that we are united on NATO's eastern flank, says Polish historian and diplomat Adam Burakowski, in an interview given to HotNews after the visit of President Nicușor Dan to Warsaw.

Adam Burakowski is a Polish historian and diplomat, well versed in the recent history of our country. He was the ambassador of Poland in Bucharest and is the author of several volumes about Romanian communism, the best known being “Genius of the Carpathians. Dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu”, an extensive biography of the communist leader.

To navigate through the archive documents, he first learned the “wooden Romanian language”, from the archives of the Security and the Central Committee of the PCR, and only then normal Romanian, which he discovered while living and making friends in Romania. And he also spoke in Romanian during the interview.

How Romania is seen from Poland

HotNews: Nicusor Dan paid a state visit to Poland on Thursday. How do you see the stake of this visit?
Adam Burakowski: It is a very important visit, because it shows the extent of our cooperation. We have had a partnership since March 3, 1921 – it is the day of Polish-Romanian solidarity. In the first months of the Second World War, Romania received approximately 300,000 Polish refugees, whom it helped enormously.

After the war, communism was forcibly introduced in our countries, and cooperation was interrupted, relations became very official, only through the Soviets.

After the fall of communism, there was a wave of friendship from the Poles to the Romanians who were fighting for freedom in December 1989. This is the basis on which our friendship was rebuilt.

When I started my adventure in Romania, in 1996, there was only one train from Krakow to Satu Mare. Now there are several flights a day from Warsaw to Bucharest, to Cluj-Napoca, to Oradea and, soon, to Brasov. After we built highways, the road from Warsaw to Bucharest was reduced to only 20 hours by car.

In addition, trade between our countries is growing. It can even be seen from the businesses on the streets, Luca in Poland, Froo in Romania. I think we have become important economic partners, and trade is growing.

“Collaboration with Romania is important”

– You are talking, above all, about private initiatives. How are things in terms of institutional relations, what are the officials doing for this partnership?
– We are in the European Union and it is easier to do business without politicians. But politicians mainly discuss partnerships in the field of security. And here there is a tangible content. In 2009, we signed a strategic partnership, and now there is talk of organizing a joint government meeting, a very powerful diplomatic tool.

For us, collaboration with Romania is important – there is now a contingent of Polish soldiers in Craiova. There is also a Polish community in Romania, whose president, Ghervazen ​​Longher, a member of the Romanian Parliament, organizes an annual scientific conference in Suceava.

On the partnership with the US: “It's normal that sometimes friends have different opinions”

– What signal does this visit send to the partners of the two countries?
– It is very important to show that we are united on the eastern flank of NATO, that we are together, because we are defending the eastern area of ​​the alliance against any danger. Now we are facing Russia's aggression against Ukraine and we are united in the help we give.

That is why the B9 format (Bucuresti9, established in 2015, after the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia, which includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, nr) is also very important, which will meet in Bucharest in May, because we need to have a common voice in this region. Scandinavian countries will be invited, for the first time, as announced by President Karol Nawrocki in Warsaw.

The spirit of a Central and Eastern Europe is important, because we have a similar past and destiny. We want stability, we want peace, we want development. This is the message of our region.

Nuclear umbrellas

– President Nicușor Dan replied, referring to the possible inclusion under the nuclear security umbrella of France, that Romania is under the security umbrella of the USA. How is the issue of security umbrellas seen from Poland?
– We need to be protected by more shadows and alliances. Because if we're together, it's simply better for us. Poland has increased defense spending and we are trying to convince our NATO partners to spend more, because the situation in our area is not very stable. I am not only referring to Russia's war against Ukraine, but also to what is happening in the Middle East.

Nuclear weapons are a powerful argument in the dialogue with states that are aggressive.

The opinion of most Poles is that we must be protected and we must ensure this through the alliances we have, regardless of whether we are talking about NATO or the EU.

The Polish model

– Romania often looks to Poland as a model of success. What is the Polish development model based on?
– Polish economic success was based on economic liberalization and decentralization. Communism had not taught us to think in economic terms, so we had a very short time to learn. And the political transformation from communism to capitalism was a dangerous road.

The communists had captured the wealth of the state, so our challenge was to become an egalitarian society.

Even before the collapse of the regime, in 1988, laws were introduced that allowed the opening of private companies. In just two years, two million companies were opened! Small, family businesses. But people have learned how to do business. In addition, Poland is a decentralized country, so economic development did not depend on the center.

The fact that we are an egalitarian society also helped us. In Poland, you can build a good career even if you were born into a poor family. No one asks where you come from, but what you can offer. Now, the level of corruption is certainly lower now than it was in the 90s – and it's falling.

I think that EU integration helped us a lot to combat this phenomenon, and people saw that the situation is improving. In 2004, the year Poland joined the EU, 2-3 million people emigrated. However, 2025 was the first year in which fewer people left than returned.

“For us, it's normal to spend on our military”

– You didn't mention military expenses, which reach 5% of GDP…
– And we're still growing. This comes from the experience I had in the Second World War. The Germans killed millions of people, destroyed Warsaw and other cities, stole a lot! Then the country was taken over by the Soviets, who were no better than the Germans.

We do not want this history to repeat itself. And, for this reason, it is the population that demands an increase in spending on the Army. They want us to be protected even more.

But there is something else: in Poland, the role of the army in our culture and tradition is very strong. Since the Middle Ages! Being a soldier gives you honor and prestige. So, for us, it is normal to spend on our military.