Northern Europe's 12 Countries Strengthen NATO Cooperation in Poland

Defense ministers from 12 Northern European countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany, met in Poland to discuss war deterrence and defense reinforcement measures on the eastern front against the Russian threat.

According to major foreign media such as the Associated Press on the 22nd (local time), defense ministers and officials from each country gathered at a military cybersecurity facility in Legionowo near Warsaw, Poland, NATO's frontline, ahead of the NATO meeting scheduled for July, to discuss strengthening NATO's deterrence on the eastern front.

Mariusz Błaszczak, Poland's Minister of Defense, said after the meeting, "We are looking for ways to organize measures to guarantee security for the 12 Northern European countries."

He emphasized cooperation with the United Kingdom and Sweden, which face each other across the Baltic Sea, explaining that they are seeking joint solutions for security guarantees. Minister Błaszczak stated, "Negotiations to receive early warning systems from Sweden have progressed," adding, "We are already conducting concrete negotiations and hope to successfully conclude them in the near future."

A building is burning due to a Russian military attack on the 21st (local time) in Bakhmut, Donetsk Province, eastern Ukraine, the largest battleground of the Ukraine war. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The early warning systems are produced by Saab in Sweden. The Swedish military purchased two GlobalEye early warning systems from Saab last year.

He explained that cooperation between Poland and Sweden is important for Baltic Sea defense, saying, "We are neighbors facing each other across the Baltic Sea and similarly perceive threats from Russia."

The 12 defense ministers are scheduled to hold a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July. The Northern Group, established in 2010 under the leadership of the United Kingdom, is a platform for developing defense plans for NATO and European Union (EU) member countries. It consists of 12 countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Poland, and the three Baltic states.