The official was in Warsaw on Friday along with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission (EC), for talks with Polish PM Donald Tusk.

“Poland is a really important player in the European Union,” he told a joint conference following the trilateral meeting.

“You are a key partner for Belgium, for the European Union. You have a very well-performing economy and you play a huge role in promoting European values.” De Croo emphasized.

Ontvangst in Polen door premier Donald Tusk
Persverklaring na de ontmoeting met premier Tusk en commissievoorzitter Ursula von der Leyen in Warschau.
https://t.co/laBXQnZXky

— Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪🇪🇺 (@alexanderdecroo) February 23, 2024

He said that “it is not every day that we learn that such a large amount, EUR 137 billion, will be released to Poland,” referring to von der Leyen’s announcement of the EC’s decision as regards the amount of cohesion and recovery funding to be unlocked for Poland in the coming days.

Commenting on Poland’s aid to war-torn Ukraine, de Croo praised Polish citizens for showing enormous support for people who fled the war in their homeland.

“And we really owe you a lot of gratitude for this. And therefore we can get involved in the implementation of your reforms, which we will support,” De Croo added.