Minister to give evidence on UK-Poland Security and Defence Partnership

Tomorrow the House of Lords International Agreements Committee will continue its inquiry into the UK-Poland security and defence partnership by hearing evidence from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence.  

The session will take place on Tuesday 30 June at 2:00pm and can be followed on Parliament TV. 

Giving evidence will be: 

• Stephen Doughty MP, Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office  

• Kirsty Hayes, Director for Europe, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office 

• Joanne Hamer, Director, EuroAtlantic Security, Ministry of Defence 

Questions the committee is likely to cover include: 

• How does the Treaty build on and differ from the 2017 UK-Poland Treaty on Defence and Security Cooperation and the 2023 UK-Poland strategic partnership joint declaration, and how does this reflect the UK's changing relationship with Poland? 

• What is the effect of the Treaty regarding the UK's and Poland's commitment to each other's defence, and does this add anything to the two countries' existing obligations to each other under Article 5 of NATO? 

• Why does the Treaty go beyond security and defence to include commitments on national security, energy security, illegal migration and other areas, and what does it aim to achieve by doing so? 

• To what extent does the Treaty help to address the variety of hybrid threats the UK and Poland face from Russia? 

• How does the Government plan to deliver on the Treaty's commitments, particularly in light of their breadth and the UK's military and defence spending?