Poland woos France on defence projects

Warsaw is wooing Paris to seek French backing for a leading Polish role in a Nato defence project.

Polish defence minister Radoslav Sikorski came to Paris on Tuesday with hope to win support on Nato’s Air Ground Surveillance (AGS) project.

“We have proposed a site, Powidz, near Poznan, and we are waiting for the green light to start building of the AGS” Sikorski told the French newspaper Le Figaro.

“The decision should fall in the next months and I rely on Mrs Alliot Marie – French defence minister – to support us”.

The AGS, which is an airborne, stand-off ground radar system, is going to be one of Nato’s most important systems set in Poland.

But Warsaw, with close ties to Washington, has also been approached by the US to receive American anti-missile systems.

“Our objective is to strengthen our partnership with NATO, the EU and the US,” Sikorski said.

“We will be as faithful with the EU as we are towards the US”.

Washington plans to install by 2011 anti-missiles in Europe to block attacks that could come from countries such as Iran.

The US will confirm by July which country has been chosen to receive the project, but Poland rates its chances but the Czech Republic is also in the running.

Sikorski assured France that Poland will not neglect EU defence projects or missions.

“We came to Paris to show our solidarity with the EU in the area of defence,” he said..

“Within the last six months, my government has decided to take part in the EU police force, to send more than a hundred soldiers to the Democratic Republic of Congo within a European force and to accede to the Code of conduct on Defence Procurement.”

By signing up this code, EU member states – except Spain, Hungary and Denmark – agreed on Monday on the liberalisation of EU defence procurement markets.

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