Tomasz Chłoń
Head of Mission
Embassy
of the Republic of Poland in Finland
My relationship with Finland is long and fruitful. Both professionally and personally. We spent six years here as diplomats in the last decade of the previous century. My children spoke Finnish to each other. Polish-Finnish relations were very good and friendly. Today, in addition to this, they are characterised by a strategic and allied partnership in the European Union, NATO and also regionally within the Baltic Sea region. Politically, economically and security wise, the Nordic and Baltic States and Germany compose the most important region of reference.
People now ask me how Finland has changed in the thirty years since I left in 1997. I reply that I can see changes, but even then you were one of the best-functioning countries and most organised societies in the world. And it has remained so. Poland, on the other hand, has changed dramatically. Poland is one of the flowering and prosperous EU-countries at the moment. What are reasons why Poland has become a such success story in Europe? A wise foreign and security policy, rapid integration with Western European and Transatlantic organisations and institutions, especially NATO and the EU. Skillful foreign service and diplomacy was instrumental on this path. The direction of the foreign and security stemmed from a consensus of political forces, including post-communists.
What followed has been an efficient use of integration instruments, the presence of allied forces on Polish territory contributing to geopolitical stability. Once again, Polish diplomacy played a significant role in this. But all this would have been meaningless without internal reforms, strong regional and local governments, including financially, and well-educated, entrepreneurial Poles developing their own businesses and attracting foreign investment. The fact that Poland is a market of 40 million inhabitants willing to spend their money and with a purchasing power almost equal to that of the inhabitants of Finland plays a significant role. Finally, there has been a hunger for success at the national and individual level, which the vast majority of Poles were deprived of due to communist oppression.
We have changed for the better, and so have most of our neighbours in the region. Unfortunately, one of them has gone down a different path. Russia. After a moment of seemingly heading towards constructive international cooperation, Russia has relapsed into imperialistic nostalgia and aggressiveness. The biggest victims of this are the Ukrainians and... the Russians themselves. Putin has caused a tsunami that is setting Russia's development back and subjecting it to Chinese domination. This policy is costing the lives and health of millions of Russians.
Among the countries of the world, Ukraine is paying the highest price for this Russian policy. Understanding this and recognising the importance of Ukraine's security, Poland and Finland are among the countries that provide the most support and assistance. Military, economic and humanitarian aid from Poland has reached approximately €30 billion. At the same time, Ukrainians living in Poland, whether for economic or humanitarian reasons, contribute billions to Poland's budget in the form of taxes.
As Ukraine bears the greatest defensive and military burden in defending its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, it has built one of the strongest armies in Europe and is a source of admiration and inspiration for others, as well as a source of knowledge about the means, methods and ways of conducting modern warfare. NATO and EU countries are learning lessons and drawing conclusions from these experiences. Ukraine declared its support for Poland after Russia's drone attack on 10 September this year.
On the eve of the ZAPAD 2025 manoeuvres, Russia, in cooperation with Belarus, sent 21 drones, most of them unarmed, into Polish territory. This was an unprecedented attack, the aim of which was to:
- test the readiness of Poland's and the Alliance's defence systems;
- test the cohesion and solidarity of the alliance;
- intimidate the Polish public and allied countries in Europe.
In operational terms, the response of Poland and its allies was decisive and effective. All elements of defence, reconnaissance, surveillance, analysis and selection of response measures, were appropriate. At the same time, the situation has showed that the development of capabilities to defend against drones needs to be significantly accelerated.
At the political and strategic level, the response of NATO and the EU was extremely efficient. Finland condemned the attack in the strongest terms and took part in preparing appropriate actions and decisions related to it. Two days after the attack, NATO launched Operation Eastern Sentry, significantly strengthening its response capabilities in case similar attacks were to occur again. This is an extremely important element of strategic communication with the perpetrators.
Similarly, NATO is responding decisively to the ZAPAD 2025 exercises. These are strategic in nature and include elements of nuclear weapons use. They are smaller than previous ones, but this is not due to the goodwill of the organisers, but to Russia's commitment of forces and resources to the Ukrainian front. It is worth remembering that the previous edition of ZAPAD in 2021, a few months before the full-scale aggression against Ukraine, included these plans. After the exercises, Russian weapons and troops remained in Belarus and were used to attack Kyiv on 24 February 2022.
NATO is prepared to observe and deter during these exercises. As part of a series of manoeuvres codenamed Iron Defender 2025, the Iron Gate exercises are taking place in Poland until 25 September this year, with the participation of 8,000 Polish and American soldiers.
Poland, Finland and their allies are strengthening their military capabilities. Polish defence spending amounts to 4.7% of GDP. This year, we became the world's 20th largest economy with a national income of $1 trillion. Less than forty years after the end of the Cold War, Poland is a country of extraordinary economic success and a proven ally of the Western community.