60,000 deployable troops: Poland joins EU-NATO Eurocorps strike force

As another antidote to the regular flow of “analysis” (still being churned out as of today) arguing there are rifts within NATO and divergent opinions with NATO and the EU in regard to hostility toward Russia. See, below, Eurocorps can participate in the alliance’s collective defense operations under Article 5 of the NATO charter.

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Poland becomes a senior member of Eurocorps

Poland on Tuesday officially became a framework nation of the multinational Eurocorps military group, with Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak attending the welcoming ceremony in Strasbourg, France.

The 1,000-strong, 11-country Eurocorps is a rapid-response military force capable of commanding up to 60,000 soldiers. It can be used in…missions by international organizations such as the European Union, NATO and the United Nations.

Błaszczak said at Tuesday’s ceremony that “the Eurocorps is an important part of the command architecture in NATO and the EU.”

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Błaszczak emphasized that the Eurocorps works with both the EU and NATO….

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Błaszczak told those at the ceremony that “given the current security situation in the East, and given how evidently very brittle is the stability outside the eastern flank [of NATO], it is important to remember where the main threat, the main challenge for the European bloc and NATO, comes from. “

He was referring to a standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.

He stressed that the Eurocorps’ six framework nations should “do everything” to make sure the force is always ready and able to meet challenges and play a significant role in NATO….

Bigger role for Poland

Błaszczak also said in Strasbourg that Poland would send a “significant” number of troops as well as equipment to the Eurocorps….

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As a high-readiness NATO force, the Strasbourg-based Eurocorps can participate in the alliance’s collective defense operations under Article 5 of the NATO charter. It is led on a rotating basis by commanders named by participating countries.

Poland becomes a framework nation after President Andrzej Duda last month signed an act of parliament that enabled him to ratify the Eurocorps Treaty….