Ministers and representatives from Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Sweden and the UK met in Warsaw, Poland today for the
Northern Group Ministers meeting.
Currently chaired by Poland, UK Defence Secretary attended the meeting hosted by Minister of
National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak in in Legionowo, near Warsaw.
The threats and challenges to European security were discussed
during the meeting. All partners agreed that Putin’s illegal
invasion of Ukraine has seriously changed the security
environment and that Russia’s aggressive posture constitutes a
direct threat to the security, stability and the prosperity of
the Euro-Atlantic area.
Northern Group members share a common view that providing further
military assistance to Ukraine to support its defence against
Russia’s brutal aggression is crucial.
Defence Secretary said:
Defence partnerships like the Northern Group are vital to tackle
shared threats. As likeminded nations we are determined to
continue our support for Ukraine in the face of Russian
aggression, for as long as it takes.
It was a pleasure to meet again with my friend and close defence
partner Mariusz Błaszczak. For over 150 years we have enjoyed a
close defence alliance with Poland and our ongoing cooperation is
supporting security and stability across Europe.
NATO Vilnius Summit was also discussed during the meeting,
including the implementation of decisions agreed during the
Madrid Summit in 2022. Northern Group members agreed that the
Vilnius Summit should enhance regional security by further
strengthening of Allied deterrence and defence posture.
Defence Secretary also held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart
Mariusz Błaszczak during the meeting. It is less than a month
since was last in Poland, invited as a guest to the
Bucharest 9 meeting. Prior to that the Ministers met in October
2022 where they signed an Air Defence Complex Weapons Memorandum
of Understanding MOU and the Arrowhead-140 Statement of Intent.
The Air Defence MOU enables the UK and Poland to cooperate in the
development and manufacture of current and future complex
weapons, further strengthening the relationship built through the
Defence and Security Cooperation Treaty (2017) and deepening the
interoperability of our Armed Forces. The Arrowhead-140 Statement
of Intent provides a framework for our governments to collaborate
on the procurement and operation of three Arrowhead-140 frigates.
The Polish Frigates will be a variant of the Arrowhead-140.
At the end of April, a major £1.9 billion export agreement was
signed by the UK and Poland. The contract with UK firm MBDA for a
British-designed air defence system is a major boost for
Euro-Atlantic security and will support hundreds of highly
skilled jobs across the UK.
It is one of the largest deals of its kind in NATO and will see
the UK equip 22 Polish air defence batteries with sophisticated
UK Common Anti-Air Modular Missiles (CAMMs) and launchers.
These announcements are just the latest recent collaboration
between our two countries aimed at helping Poland bolster its
armed forces to deter aggression, and are in addition to the UK’s
deployment of the Sky Sabre air defence system to Poland.
