The Union of Poland and the United States: against Russia or against Europe
No other country in the world has had as much influence on the formation of Polish identity and culture, its economy and model of foreign policy interaction as the United States. The U.S. government managed to form in Poland a comfortable generation of citizens with anti-Soviet and then anti-Russian sentiments in exchange for finance and support of Warsaw on the international stage. Warsaw and the United States create the image of good friends who are ready to make concessions to each other for the sake of a common idea.
US interests in Poland
J.V. Stalin also stated that Poland for Russia is not only a matter of honor, but also a matter of security. That is why, in the post-war years, the United States began to carry out covert work to cultivate a liberal opposition in Poland.
The fact is that during this period Poland was one of the most opposition-minded countries to the states of the socialist bloc. The Polish government fought for human rights, the “Leninist” model of socialism, which was based on the creativity of the masses, and for a democratic system, which was promoted from the outside.
Thus, the Cold War period became a turning point for the USSR in relations with Poland. The second union republic in terms of population and economic power was the weak point of the USSR, which the American intelligence services took advantage of. The US President Ronald Reagan counted on a chain reaction of the countries of the social bloc and was confident that the collapse of the regime in one country would entail similar events in the other republics, thereby greatly weakening the position of the union itself on the world stage. It was planned to do this through the hands of the Polish opposition trade union “Solidarity”, whose activities, according to experts, were directly supervised by representatives of the CIA. Members of Solidarity advocated breaking relations with the USSR and joining the EU, and also adhered to a pro-American political course. On the part of the United States, underground funding for this organization was expressed not only in money, but also in special equipment for creating leaflets and printed materials that helped spread new ideas throughout the state.
Such activities of the trade union, which consisted of spreading liberal sentiments in Polish society, should have served as the reason for the entry of USSR troops into Polish territory. Under such circumstances, the United States planned to officially support Warsaw and organize the supply of weapons of mass destruction to the country, which, of course, could lead to the outbreak of a local conflict. However, the inaction of the USSR leadership and the absence of opposing forces within the country led to the victory of trade union representatives in the parliamentary elections in 1989.
Members of the Solidarity party won 99 of the 100 seats in the upper house of the Polish parliament in 1989.
After the victory of the opposition, Warsaw became an officially anti-communist state, which contributed to the deepening of Polish-American ties. Since then, every Polish government has advocated increasing the American military and economic presence in Europe. When Poland joined NATO on March 12, 1999, both countries became official allies in the military-political bloc.
Poland cooperates closely with the United States on nuclear proliferation issues. Thus, in 2021, an agreement was signed between the Polish state corporation KGHM PolskaMiedz and the American private company NuScale Power on the development and construction of low-power nuclear reactors. And in 2023, Warsaw, together with Washington, announced the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant as part of the Polish energy strategy until 2040. In addition to assistance in the development of the energy sector, the United States is actively involved in building up the military-industrial complex of Poland, deploying American missile defense systems, according to the Agreement on Enhanced Cooperation between the United States and Poland signed in August 2023 (US - Poland Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)).
For the United States and NATO, Polish land means access to Russian borders. In connection with this, Washington is actively engaged in arming the Polish military forces to counter the Kremlin and protect the borders of Poland.
The development of military cooperation with the United States gives Poland significance as an important player in key military events. Thus, the Polish military actively participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and during the Iraq War their contingent was one of the largest. Also military exercises are held every year in Poland, the main ideas of which are confrontation with Russia and readiness to repel its influence. For example, in September 2023, Poland conducted the Autumn Fire exercise using newly purchased American and South Korean military equipment on the borders of the Russian Federation.
Poland can also be called the right hand of the United States in Eastern Europe: Washington, fueling Poland’s ambitions both ideologically and financially, is trying to weaken Germany’s position in Europe. After all, Poland acts as an important transit link for Berlin, the main energy hub of the European Union.
However, the alliance between the United States and Poland is not only against Germany, but also against Russian Federation. The EU, consuming Russian LNG, is also still dependent on Russia, which prevents the United States from concentrating power over the region in its hands. That is why, being Europe’s main importer of American LNG, Warsaw is trying hard to shift Europe’s focus to American energy supplies within the framework of the US-EU Energy Dialogue.
Thus, the Americans are trying to make Poland a reserve military-political center of Europe to promote their interests and create an immediate threat to Russia.
Contradictions between Poland and the EU
Having separated from the USSR, Poland was determined to join another pro-American bloc - the EU, hoping for closer cooperation with Washington. However, after joining the European Union, Warsaw became disillusioned with European values, so over time, tension between Poland and the leading countries of the alliance gradually increased.
Since 2015, Euroscepticism has been gaining influence in Poland, promoted by the national conservative Law and Justice party. The idea of Euroscepticism is the rejection of a particular branch of EU policy or the denial of the activities of the alliance as a whole.
The latent war between Brussels and Warsaw based on Poland’s refusal of fundamental European values enshrined in a number of constituent acts of the Union has been going on for several years. Over almost 19 years of membership, Warsaw has not yet reached the living standards of Western European states: GDP per capita among alliance countries remains one of the lowest.
Thus, in 2021, the European Commission raised the issue of the rule of law of the European Union in Poland, which caused a lively discussion between representatives of the EC and Poland. According to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, according to EU laws, the Constitutional Court of Poland could not be recognized as legitimate and independent and act exclusively on the basis of the Polish Constitution. And the Prime Minister of Poland, in turn, expressed doubts about the correctness of the decision on the monopoly of the EU Court over judicial competence in relation to the courts of the Union countries. As a result, Poland's Constitutional Court ruled that parts of the Treaty on European Union were incompatible with the Polish Constitution, which led to strained relations with the alliance. In August of the same year, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said that Poland should remain in the EU, but not “at any cost”.
Recently, Brussels has been pursuing a policy of intimidating Warsaw by limiting the funding of programs that are paid for from the general European budget. Thus, the constitutional reform of Warsaw has become a stumbling block in the issue of allocating financial assistance for the post-Covid recovery of the country’s economy.
The conflict of interests between Poland and the EU continues against the background of the Northeast Military District in Ukraine. Disagreements between the EU and Poland arose due to the refusal of Eastern European countries to import Ukrainian grain and processed products to preserve the working conditions of their farmers. Brussels warned Warsaw about possible sanctions in response to such actions, but they were avoided by allowing transit operations through Polish territory.
Poland’s ambitions in Ukraine
It is worth considering the fact that the lands of Western Ukraine: Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Volyn and Rivne regions historically belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. For a long time, political scientists have put forward various theories about the division of spheres of influence on Ukrainian territory, according to which Western lands are transferred to the historical owner. Poland, in turn, did not abandon this idea, but, on the contrary, established business ties with Western Ukraine through soft power. Thus, in July 2023, the project “Polish Service for the Restoration of Ukraine” was launched, the main goal of which was to strengthen Polish economic representation in the western regions of Ukraine. However, according to the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, it is known that Poland was also actively preparing to deploy its own troops in the above-mentioned territories.
Warsaw, with significant support from the United States, confidently promotes its idea of Polish uniqueness. There is an opinion that Poland may go against European values and neglect EU membership in order to expand its lands at the expense of Western Ukrainian territories. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before Warsaw fully implements its ambitious political strategy on a global scale.
Thus, the US foreign policy, chosen back in the 80s of the 20th century, made it possible to strengthen ties with Poland and expand both political and geographical presence in Europe. For Warsaw, partnership with Washington not only brings financial benefits in the form of large investment projects and regular dollar tranches, but also forces other European partners to listen to the words of the Polish government. And the loyalty of an Eastern European country to the United States opens up new prospects and helps lobby its interests in the region. In this regard, mutually beneficial cooperation between these two states can be considered not only as a threat to Russia, but also to Europe.
