In a speech that dwelled upon the threat to European security posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Duda emphasised the role the United States has played on the continent when it came to bringing peace and prosperity.
Miguel Rodriguez/PAP/EPA

Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, has used his address to the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York to say that Poland will use its presidency of the EU to “enhance trans-Atlantic relations”.

Poland assumes the rotating presidency of the EU at the start of 2025. The country is also a key ally of the United States in Europe, and is now home to thousands of US military personnel while becoming a significant buyer of US defence equipment.

In a speech that dwelled upon the threat to European security posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Duda emphasised the role the United States has played on the continent when it came to bringing peace and prosperity.

“The United States played a pivotal role in defeating Nazi Germany,” he said. “Without US support neither the United Kingdom nor the Soviet Union would have been able to resist Hitler.

“It is too often that Europe tends to forget that it owes its security and prosperity to the US commitment and presence,” Duda continued.

“In Poland we know this very well. That is why Poland’s top priority in the time of our presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2025 will be enhancing trans-Atlantic relations and cooperation between the EU and the United States.