UK and Poland to launch new defence and security treaty in Warsaw
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-16)

Increased military co-operation to tackle the growing threats facing Europe will be at the heart of a new defence and security agreement launched by the UK and Poland today.

- Prime Minister Keir Starmer to meet Polish Prime Minister to kickstart new defence and security negotiations to tackle Putin’s aggression, smash the criminal people smuggling gangs and secure our energy supplies
- Polish company InPost confirms £600 million UK investment – the latest in a series of billions of pounds of job-boosting investments across the UK this week alone
- Prime Minister continues his focus on international engagement which keeps the UK people safe and secure while growing the economy
Increased military co-operation to tackle the growing threats facing Europe will be at the heart of a new defence and security agreement launched by the UK and Poland today.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Poland today to start talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on the new UK-Poland Treaty, which will bring the two countries closer together to tackle shared threats.

With Putin’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, the people smuggling gangs profiting from human misery and wreaking havoc across borders, and the growing threat of climate change – the Prime Minister has been clear that closer working with our European allies is necessary to tackle the issues that rebound on the British people at home.

The treaty will support our militaries to work more closely together to protect Europe from Russian aggression and do more to tackle disinformation and hybrid threats. It will also see the two nations work together to smash the people smuggling gangs, secure our energy supplies and protect our infrastructure.

The UK and Poland have been close allies for many years, working together to bolster NATO’s Eastern Flank and deepening our defence industrial cooperation through key defence projects such as the MIECZNIK AH140 Frigate Programme and the NAREW Ground Based Air Defence Programme.

The Prime Minister has also confirmed a boost to the UK’s defence industries with the opening of a new UK-Poland Joint Programme Office in Bristol this year, which will be staffed by personnel from both countries while delivering Poland’s next generation air defence system.

The NAREW programme is a collaboration between UK firm MBDA and Polish defence company PGZ, which will see Poland receive more than 1,000 air missiles to help protect its people and bolster overall European security.

It follows the Prime Minister’s trip to Ukraine this week, where he confirmed the UK’s enduring support for Ukraine via a new 100 Year Partnership.

Keeping the country safe and secure is the Prime Minister’s first priority and the key foundation on which the government will deliver its Plan for Change.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

The UK and Poland are longstanding allies and our co-operation stretches back for generations.

With ever-increasing threats to Europe’s security, now is the time to take our partnership to the next level, so we can ensure we’re tackling the big issues that rebound on the British people at home – from Putin’s aggression to the vile people smuggling gangs trading in human misery.

It is only through closer collaboration with our most important partners such as Poland that we’ll protect the UK’s national security – the key foundation on which I’ll deliver my Plan for Change.

As part of the treaty, the UK and Poland are expected to turbocharge their efforts to tackle illegal migration. Poland has been on the frontline of Europe’s fight to tackle organised immigration crime – and has seen a huge increase in migrant crossings from the Belarusian border, facilitated by gangs assisted by the Belarusian and Russian authorities.

Last week, the UK announced a world-first sanctions regime which will cripple the people smuggling crime rings and starve them of the illicit finance fuelling their operations.

Talks are expected to begin this month to agree the treaty, which will be a key pillar of the UK’s wider reset with Europe and builds on recent agreements with France and Germany.

The Prime Minister will also focus on strengthening economic ties and meet Polish business leaders while in Warsaw to encourage inward investment into the UK – supporting thousands of jobs for British people and growing the economy.

Bilateral trade between the UK and Poland has doubled in the last decade – reaching £30.6 billion in 2024. British firms exported goods and services worth £10.6 billion to Poland last year, supporting around 75,000 jobs in the UK.

To coincide with the Prime Minister’s visit, Polish company InPost has today announced that it is investing a further £600 million by 2029 to grow their operations in the UK. This brings its total investment into the UK to £1 billion – supporting up to 12,000 new jobs.

InPost is a leader in logistics solutions for European e-commerce and they operate the largest parcel lockers network in the UK.

This is the latest in a series of job-boosting investments to deliver growth as part of our Plan for Change including £14 billion in AI investment, £4 billion from Malaysian YTL creating 30,000 jobs and a £50 million investment deal secured between JATCO, Nissan and UK government to build a new manufacturing site in Sunderland, creating and supporting hundreds of jobs in the North East.