2026-04-20 12:43
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2026-04-20 12:43
Early on Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron, who arrived in Gdańsk for the 1st Polish-French Intergovernmental Summit on the occasion of the Polish-French Friendship Day. The politicians' talks will cover, among others: security and allied relations.
This will be the first summit after the signing of the Treaty on Enhanced Cooperation and Friendship between Poland and France on May 9, 2025 in Nancy. The treaty covers military, economic, social and cultural issues. It assumes mutual security guarantees, cooperation in combating hybrid threats, and joint activities in the field of defense industry, economy, agriculture and science.
On Monday, the Polish-French Friendship Day, established in the treaty, will also be celebrated for the first time. “The Treaty of Nancy opened a new chapter in the relations between Poland and France. (…) The document strengthens Polish-French cooperation and establishes April 20 as Polish-French Friendship Day. It is an expression of lasting bonds between our societies and a common vision of the future – a safe, strong and competitive Europe,” emphasized the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement published at the beginning of the week.
The first point of Macron's visit, before being welcomed by the head of the Polish government, was participation in a ceremony at the French Military Cemetery in Siedlce in Gdańsk, where, among others, are buried. soldiers of Napoleon's troops. The program of the 1st Polish-French Intergovernmental Summit includes, among others: a one-on-one meeting between the Polish Prime Minister and the President of France. Tusk and Macron are also to lay flowers at the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970, visit the exhibition at the European Solidarity Center and place pendants on the freedom wall.
At The delegation's plenary session will begin at 2:45 p.m. According to the Government Information Center, talks during the summit are to cover, among others: bilateral relations between Poland and France, challenges for security in Europe, as well as allied and transatlantic relations.
The event will also be attended by representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, energy, culture and national heritage of both countries. He announced his presence, among others: Deputy Prime Minister, head of the Ministry of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
A joint appearance for the media was also planned, scheduled for 16.15. The delegations will visit the European Solidarity Center, where at On October 18, there will be a ceremony to present the Bronisław Geremek Award, awarded to people who have made particular contributions to Polish-French relations.
During his visit to Gdańsk, the French President will be accompanied by the ministers of: defense (Catherine Vautrin), foreign affairs (Jean-Noel Barrot), culture (Catherine Pegard) and the minister responsible for energy in the Ministry of Economy (Maud Bregeon).
On Friday, during a press conference, Prime Minister Tusk said that at a time when we are witnessing geopolitical destabilization, war in the Middle East and a change in Washington's strategy towards our region, his task is to protect Polish-American and European-American relations from shocks. As he said, “our American friends must understand that the European Union is the best thing that could happen to Europe.” – I hope that these attempts to destabilize the European Union in Washington – I don't know who is behind this idea – will stop. Because this is a very serious geostrategic mistake, he added.
The head of the Polish government emphasized that he would very much like the US and Europe to show solidarity again against Russian aggression in Ukraine and announced that this would be one of the topics of his talks with President Macron, with whom – as he added – he has very similar views on this matter. – How to build the strength of Europe, how to build the sovereignty of Poland, France and Europe and how to cooperate on security also using France's nuclear potential? (…) The issue of security and military cooperation will be key issues, Tusk said.
He added that he invited President Macron to his hometown, wanting to show how Gdańsk was rebuilt after World War II, which is a reference to the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine, which will be held in June in the same city. (PAP)
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