News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]

Hard to know who you're replying to since for some odd reason your quotes mis the posters names. Do you have a fault on your computer or phone?


Do we? That only happens here when there are Germans in the discussion. There isn't a 'European Army' and as far as I know, Poland are not proposing one.


If anything, it's larger than it was a decade ago.

A gentle reminder. This thread is about the Poland as a military power, its army and navy, its defence manufacturing capacity and its ownership of that.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


That is the prevailing opinion and one of several reasons that a number of countries in Europe don't want it, just as they'd not want their countries' armies to be under the control of the EU or more specifically those countries who dominate it.


Or probably ever. And it wouldn't be one European currency since Europe is not te( EU and the EU is not Europe.

Bizarre that a thread about the growing Polish Army has been derailed to be about the EU.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]

It isn't though. It's the Eurozone currency, and not even all of the EU, never mind Europe as a whole, is in the Eurozone.


Zlotych.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


What on Earth for, since it isn't universal in Europe.

Off-Topic / Things you can't get used to in your new country [95]

The safe ones?

Yes. No 'still' about it.

There are quite a few standard types in the world and these are probably the safest.

In Poland, even after so many years, I always look for the safety switch to find it's not there.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


They're the same country. Poland is however an independent country.


A positive thing, and perhaps armaments produced by Polish-owned companies under the auspices of the Polish government will be the best Europe can develop.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


They don't tend to learn Hillbilly or Glaswegian, yet do have to understand or be able to ask for clarification when encountering g either.


That statement is either hopelessly naive or more likely disingenuous.

Why not let Poland buy some arms producing companies in France and Germany; that would certainly be economically beneficial to Poland.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Poland is a full member of NATO and the NATO aircraft may well be theirs.

It also produces weapons and this is a growing sector (much to the chagrin of France and Germany who would rather sell to Poland or own their means of production rather than compete with them).

Do not underestimate Poland or the Polish Army.


I fully agree. It's worth mentioning that English is the main military language in Europe (the sole one really however the French squeal like little piggies about this sometimes) and the rest of the world and a lot of resources are devoted to language training for army officers. That's why/how I first moved Poland all those years ago,

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


You'd be surprised. Poland has a very large army and one that is well respected and has seen active service in a number of theatres including Iraq, They're currently developing their army (working with the U.K. and U.S.) and is likely to emerge as Europe's second military power after the U.K. it may one day overtake us even.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Remember that the thread is about the Polish Army and it's emergence as the second military power in Europe after its ally the U.K...

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Their population can be quite insular in attitude.

Odd that a thread about the improvement and expansion of the Polish Army has been steered by two Germans towards issues about their own military and about Micron's dream of a Euroarmy.

History / Are Poles happy with the current Polish borders? [134]


That sounds a bit like Middle England, a term that politicians use. It has nothing to do with physical geography or any particular place, more a demographic, with average income, average IQ and educational levels, who tend to be quite patriotic though not particularly nationalistic and have a tendency to be floating voters who may find one or more policy of the hard right to be appealing but do not vote for extremes.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


OK, let's be real. The British armed forces, despite Tory spending cuts, are still the continent's best, however much Micron dislikes that.

Poland is emerging as a military power and a strong ally of Britain, in part due to Poland's and Britain's robust and immediate response to ruzzian expansionism where others prevaricated.


With broom handles and WW2 helmets?


Size isn't everything as your wife and President Zelenskyy both say.

One thing about the U.K. (and certainly its armed forces) is that they have a consistent and oft-repeated record of confounding the expectations (and intentions) of the mainland.

It seems that in military matters, Poland and the U.K. at the only adults in the room and of course both are leading members of NATO, an alliance that isn't going anywhere soon.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


A lot of what-ifs in that. And of course, haven't Europe thrown up some spectacularly foul political leaders within living memory?


Certainly sick, however they don't represent the majority there (and indeed advocate an extreme minority view).


One aspect of our current situation is stability with NATO member states. A very successful peace.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


You did however mention it for some reason.


And isn't unreasonable, especially for those countries. (not Poland or the U.K.) which have neglected that.

Defence? You even spell it the American rather than the European way.

Remember that the United States is a complex democracy rather than a banana republic and despite trumpet's hot air, nothing happened to weaken NATO as the European military alliance. If anything, it is growing stronger now.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


His voting record during his career in congress demonstrates strong support for NATO. He has described his foreign policy as "Reaganite".

Odd you mentioned him?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Fortunately, he is highly unlikely to win and of course America values the existence of NATO which they created.

trumpet's rhetoric while in office didn't weaken NATO and his ravings while out of office are irrelevant.


No bad thing given the behaviour of Germany when they have a strong military or access to one.


It doesn't pose a problem now, and there is no serious suggestion of a 'common army', merely more cooperation.

History / Are Poles happy with the current Polish borders? [134]


So a nutcase.


With good reason.


Before NATO membership and quite frankly the German army is so utterly useless that it would take them many years to build it up to a level where it could invade Luxembourg, never mind Poland whose army is large, well-trained and effective. And their build up would neither go unnoticed or as last time, unstopped.

Plus of course there would be worldwide condemnation of Germany for such an act as well as military intervention from other NATO states were Poland to trigger Article 5. it would be yet another war crime to add to their already very long rap sheet and on a "three strikes and you're out" basis, it would mean the end of Germany as we know it.

Law / Moroccan girl try be marry to a Polish man not muslim [7]


No, no problems at airports however I'd be careful staying at small hotels in conservative areas.

About Moroccan law, you'd probably get the most accurate advice with8n Morocco.

There's so,e discussion about the matter here: expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=356767

History / Are Poles happy with the current Polish borders? [134]


They don't have the force to do that. The German armed forces are useless whereas the Polish armed forces are not. NATO would doubtless have a lot to say about one member state trying to seize territory from another. The EU may well protest, however they are of course useless and as an organisation basically a Franco/German economic pact that holds out crumbs to nearby states so the6 can be economically exploited.


The far right, nationalists, ultra-conservatives, or whatever you want to call them do not belong in the same sentence as the word "understanding".

Law / Moroccan girl try be marry to a Polish man not muslim [7]


Not under Polish law and Polish marriages are recognised as lawful around the world. A quick look online at the Moroccan government website suggests that it's not possible to register in Morocco without a certificate of conversion, however your marriage is still legally valid.

Law / Moroccan girl try be marry to a Polish man not muslim [7]


That is enough. There's no need to have the legal part of a wedding in two countries. If Morocco has any unusual laws relating to overseas ,marriages, you'd need to check with Moroccans, however many couples from different countries get married and do not have two ceremonies/registrations in different countries.

A weddinfg (the registration part) in Poland takes place in the Urząd Stan Cywilnego. It is a government office and there is a small ceremony (not religious) where the couple make promises to be together and then sign a document. It is like a nikah ceremony however it is in an office. When the document is signed, you are married under Polish law.

History / Are Poles happy with the current Polish borders? [134]


Germany does not have any claim on Polish territory any more than Poland has a claim on former territories in the east.


That is likely to happen anyway with time and is obviously not a bad thing, however it won't be under the aegis of Germany or be any sort of back door irredentism.


Total stupidity and far right politicians/voters go together like martini and an olive. Fortunately the far right at small and as economic stability and prosperity increase there is little appeal for extreme politics.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


The actual evidence (their policy documents are a matter of public record) is that they are likely to engage further in Europe as their access to other parts of the world decreases.


Remember that we were talking about Europe rather than organisations like the EU.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Unfortunately the tune has very dark aspects.

What we've got works well, and given how unreliable some of the states in mainland Europe are (it's not that long ago that Slovak military intelligence has to be excluded from any shared initiatives due to it being riddled with ruzzian spies and it's likely that German and French militaries also don't lack them) the idea of a common European army is a very long way off.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Is that a problem?

As well as America and the U.K., there are three other of the worlds most stable and successful democracies involved, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and soon to Japan (who may also join NATO though Micron opposes it since it marginalises him further).


Or the continent's foremost armed forces.

We already cooperate a lot with mainland armies, including yours (or rather West Germany's; you did say once but I don't recall whether you're from West or East Germany) who had troops stationed in Wales right through the Cold War.

What we've got works very well indeed and I agree with you that it should develop. Not a unified Euroarmy. Previous attempts at that (HRE, Bonaparte, Hitler) have all been deeply undesirable whereas what we've got now is the most successful defensive alliance ever.

I've a feeling that we'r coming to this issue from two very very different viewpoints and would do best to cordially agree to disagree.

Good night and take care!

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


That's news to the world.


It isn't a nation.

At least you've now admitted that you'd like to see each country's entire armed force merged under the EU (i.e. France/Germany) command.


We're in a defensive pact with them. There's also AUKUS/JAUKUS and Five Eyes. Do you see your 'eu army' being part of those as well as NATO?

That's a lot of alliances.

As far as your "anything but successful" comment goes, NATO is without any doubt, by far the most stable and successful defensive alliance in the history of the world. Why do you think we "have to change" that?

Would you seriously suggest withdrawing from NATO?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]

And of course the answer to the question you've dodged for the past hour is almost certainly that you'd lbe quite happy to see some or all countries having their entire army as part of this.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Nobody is in a position to do that.


Since European counties and others already cooperate effectively. Do you disagree with that statement.


Europe is not the EU. the EU is not Europe, there's nothing to stop individual EU member states taking part in joint exercises with each other or with others. What is the benefit in changing a very successful status quo.?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Perhaps a better way to describe it is as a good example of how NATO looks and works.

So how much of a country's army would you expect to be part of this? A very small part. a quarter? half or even more?

Given that you've posted for an hour on a 'common European army' you seem strangely reluctant to answer that question.

Or would you even want a country's entire land forces to be part of it?

I suspect we can guess your answer.