At a joint press conference, Tusk said that Estonia and Poland understand very well that security, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine, is a priority.
“We have agreed that our common task will be to mobilize and motivate all our partners in Europe to assist in this armed effort of Ukraine against Russian aggression as intensively and effectively as possible,” Tusk said.
As the Polish Prime Minister said, among the topics he discussed with Prime Minister Kallas was the issue of illegal migration. He pointed out that
there are warning signs indicating Lukashenka’s regime once again intends to use illegal migrants to apply pressure on Poland’s eastern border to achieve its political goals and destabilize this part of Europe.
Tusk said he would urge Poland’s EU partners to make illegal migration a real priority for the European community.
“So that the entire EU, not just Poland, recognizes the need to defend our territory, to protect the border, to control the border as a European priority,” Tusk said.
He added that
the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will begin on January 1, 2025, and last for six months, will be dedicated to security.
“Poland and Estonia are very like-minded partners,” Prime Minister Kallas said. “In very many aspects: on the future of Europe, where we are going, what more we can do. And as we stand here today on the other side of the Polish border, there is a Russian invasion going on, full-scale, against Ukraine.”
She also said that Russia’s attempts to fan the flames of pre-existing strife within European societies have not gone unnoticed and that the moment now is a “decisive” one.
She also said that “Western colleagues” need reminding since they may not be aware of what instruments Russia has on hand to destabilize the situation in Europe.
One of the issues Kallas raised was the use of frozen Russian assets to fund support for Ukraine, as societies in the countries aiding Kyiv are beginning to question why they should pay for a war they did not start, seeing it as a “justified question.”
“Russia thinks that it can outlast us, it counts that our unity is dissolving and across the world, the elections in the free world are blurring the situation and blurring our focus. We have to have the spirit of victory, we can prove that Russia is wrong,” said Estonia’s Prime Minister.
She also said that among the topics discussed with Prime Minister Tusk were matters of closer cooperation between Tallinn and Warsaw in terms of defense and countering cyberattacks.
