Radosław Sikorski added that Warsaw intended to use its six-month turn at the helm to position itself as one of the bloc’s ‘Big Five’ member states.

Among Poland’s objectives for its term, which starts on January 1, is to use the frozen assets of Russia’s central bank to support Ukraine, Sikorski said, adding that Warsaw wants to prevent a return to “business as usual” with Russia and Belarus.

Another priority will be strengthening EU sanctions against Moscow and Minsk and preventing their circumvention, Sikorski said.

The foreign minister highlighted the aim of using EU funds to support the construction of defense infrastructure, including Poland’s East Shield initiative. He also said Warsaw planned to create a “European Resistance Council” to counter disinformation.

“We want to build, together with the member states and the European Commission, a Europe capable of facing security threats, coming mainly from the east, including in terms of ensuring adequate industrial production for the defense sector,” Sikorski was quoted by Poland’s state news agency, PAP, as saying.

EU expansion

In addition to priorities reflecting the Polish presidency’s motto of “Security, Europe!”, another focus of Warsaw’s term will be expansion of the EU, with an emphasis on the “pace and quality” of the process, Sikorski said, specifying Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans in this regard.

“We will support the EU aspirations of Georgia’s society,” he said, adding: “We want the EU and Turkey to take concrete steps toward rapprochement.”

Sikorski added that the Polish presidency would organize as many as 42 informal meetings for the bloc’s foreign ministers, some of them involving EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Meetings are also planned in Poland of the EU’s Political and Security Committee and the Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management, PAP reported.