PM in Portugal: Poland a close strategic ally of Estonia

  • 2021-05-09
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - Estonia regards Poland a close strategic ally, both in terms of security and the economy, as well as in relation to infrastructure projects such as Rail Baltic, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said at a meeting with her Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki at the Porto Social Summit held in Portugal.

"We want to strengthen our renewable energy cooperation with Poland and thus, I have invited Poland to join the development of the Baltic Sea maritime network project. We have shared climate concerns and we agree that the new climate framework must be affordable and realistic for everyone and support the necessary investments," Kallas said, adding that Poland significantly contributes to the security of the region through NATO's Baltic air policing mission and joint exercises.

"What we're first and foremost expecting from the NATO summit in June is a message of a strong and united NATO that constantly adapts to changing security conditions and has collective defense at its core. NATO should above all concentrate on guaranteeing the allies' security in a situation where Russia remains the primary military threat; NATO should remain faithful to the open door policy and confirm the alliance's strategic partnership with the EU. We need to jointly underline the importance of the United States' military presence in Europe and we highly appreciate US units' rotation in our region," Kallas said. The Estonian premier also extended an invitation to her Polish counterpart to attend the digital and innovation summit to be held in Estonia in September.

"The key issue will be increasing the involvement of private capital in major infrastructure projects that meet certain standards, such as transparency, reliability and market economy logic. We will provide the platform for the discussion in Tallinn and we're also hoping to spark the interest of the United States and the OECD," Kallas said.

The Estonian premier is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings in Porto with Spanish Prime minister Pedro Sanchez and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU leaders' talks on Saturday concentrated on how to ensure an inclusive recovery, with education and skills at the heart of the EU's political action. The talks are focusing on ways to create jobs and improve job quality, fight poverty and social exclusion, and addressing how to support all those affected by the COVID-19 crisis and who have, for example, seen their education, training or participation in the labor market disrupted.

At the end of the summit, EU leaders are expected to adopt the Porto declaration, setting out their vision for Europe's digital, green and fair transition.

Kallas is also to take part on Saturday in the India-EU Leaders' meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi via a video link. Topics to be discussed include strengthening cooperation between the EU and India and the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.