The United States and Poland have concluded negotiations on the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which builds on our security cooperation and cements our long-standing defence partnership. Thanks to the military infrastructure prepared by Poland under the agreement, it will be possible, in the event of a potential threat, to immediately send additional troops to Poland to ensure a total presence of up to 20,000 US troops. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Minister of National Defence Mariusz Béaszczak signed a defence cooperation agreement on August 15. The signing ceremony took place in Warsaw, at the presidential palace, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda. “The agreement will strengthen our military cooperation and strengthen the US military presence in Poland to further strengthen NATO`s deterrence, strengthen European security and help ensure democracy, freedom and sovereignty,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in a statement. “This is a normal ratification process. The President was only able to ratify the agreement after Parliament`s agreement and as soon as the new legislation came into force,” said Pawel Soloch. The EDCA reflects the common vision outlined in joint declarations signed by Presidents Donald J. Trump and Andrzej Duda in 2019. In particular, it provides the legal framework, infrastructure and an equitable distribution of the burdens necessary for deepening our defence cooperation. – We have put in place a legal framework for the permanent presence of US forces in Poland, both to the extent currently planned and in the event of further expansion; Among other topics discussed by U.S.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. This means that the agreement signed today offers the opportunity to strengthen the presence of American troops in Poland and also to organize many more American military exercises in our country. (…) I have the feeling of a well-accomplished mission, because the permanent presence of American troops in our country, as well as the balanced and consequential technical modernization of the armed forces and the constant increase in the size of the army, create a complex system that guarantees our security – said Minister Mariusz Beaszczak. In addition to defence cooperation, Pompeo and Morawiecki discussed support for the Belarusian people, measures to recover the COVID 19 pandemic, secure 5G networks and improve energy and regional infrastructure through the Three Seas initiative. President Duda said the agreement provides for a further increase in the number of U.S. troops deployed in Poland and the creation of a new legal framework for the presence of American soldiers in Poland. It strengthens the US military presence in Eastern Europe and provides for the strengthening of Polish defence infrastructure and the extension of joint military exercises, as announced on Monday by the Polish presidential palace. The United States appreciates our strong bilateral relations with Poland. We look forward to The rapid ratification of EDCA by Poland, which will allow us to fully implement the enhanced defence cooperation provided by Presidents Trump and Duda. “I want the ratification of the agreement today to be a symbol of current Polish-American relations — calm, regardless of all political storms and political processes,” Duda said. “We are acting calmly and ratifying this agreement, pending the newly elected president of the United States to take an oath before the nation at the right time and take office,” he said. November 9 (UPI) — Polish President Andrzej Duda on Monday signed an improved cooperation agreement between the United States and Poland and said the union must grow despite political changes.
The agreement was signed on 15 August 2020 by Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Warsaw.
