U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with President Trump’s nominee to be Ambassador to Poland, Mr. Thomas Rose, and nominee to be Ambassador to Belgium, Mr. William White. Daines emphasized the importance of continuing to strengthen the United States’ relationship with both countries and the need for increased investments in defense spending and energy security.
Watch the full exchange HERE.
Daines emphasized the need to invest in Polish national security strategy:
Daines: Mr. Rose, as you know, Poland has long been one of the U.S.’s closest defense partners in Europe. The Poles have no illusions about the threat environment. They are clear-eyed. They’ve made significant investments in energy security as well as defensive capability. The country already spends over 4 percent of GDP on defense and has committed now to the new benchmark of 5 percent. Furthermore, of course, the U.S. has a permanent troop presence in Poland, and I know that’s a presence that Poland supports. Mr. Rose, if confirmed, how can you encourage Poland to continue to invest in a national security strategy that is both strategically and technologically interoperable with the United States?
Rose: Poland’s not going to take much convincing. Poland is there. Poland is our strongest ally in Europe.
Daines asked about Poland’s energy strategy:
Daines: One of the question about Poland and strategy is on energy. I really do believe that energy security is national security and it all ties together, we’ve seen certainly after Russia invaded Ukraine. How can the United States best support Poland as it completes its transition away from Russian energy and ensures both price and supply stability for the country?
Rose: Poland is investing billions of dollars to develop an entirely new off-take facility for American-exported liquid natural gas, an LNG facility. Poland’s just an absolutely terrific and essential partner and ally of this country.
Daines emphasized the need to increase Belgium’s defense spending:
Daines: Mr. White, I want to ask a few questions about Belgium. As you know, they have historically been under invested in defense. The past few months, and with the advent of a new government, they seem to have brought about a change in that front. And I’m really pleased to see, as we discussed in the office, they recently signed the 5 percent spending pledge on defense. Furthermore, I just announced a major purpose of a purpose of F-35 near-defense systems. This is much-needed and very welcome. So good news on that front. Mr. White, when you are confirmed as Ambassador, how can we best support the Belgium government as they seek to make much new investments in their defensive capabilities?
White: With regard to the defense issue, we talked about how that breaks down. The 5 percent really, for everybody to know, is folks who don’t understand, this is 1.5 percent for infrastructure, 3.5 percent for defense spending. This announcement of the F-35 purchase by Prime Minister Bart De Wever, the new Prime Minister, is welcome news, and we look forward to tracking that with what will be my great partner in Matt Whitaker and Secretary Rubio and the team along with Andy Puzder, who will be at the EU. The three of us there will be working very hard to get Belgium up to that number.
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Contact: Matt Lloyd, Gabby Wiggins