WARSAW,
Poland (AP) — Poland's new prime minister said Wednesday that she will
seek a greater U.S. military presence in the country as the conflict in
neighboring Ukraine has made Poland's security and U.S.-Polish
relationship even more important.
Later Wednesday the Parliament voted 259-183 with
seven abstentions to grant Ewa Kopacz and her government a vote of
confidence for their one-year mission. Kopacz took over from Donald
Tusk, democratic Poland's longest serving prime minister, who resigned
to take a key European Union job.
She vowed to take a "pragmatic" approach to
Ukraine, putting Poland's security first, but said she would not agree
to a change in Europe's borders "by force," as took place in Crimea.
Under Tusk, Poland was one of Europe's strongest critics of Russian
aggression in Ukraine. Kopacz's remarks suggested that her government
will still support Ukraine, but will be less outspoken on Russia.
Kopacz indicated that her team, composed of the same coalition as Tusk's, would continue the predecessors' policies of strengthening Poland's position in the EU and seeking to build a strong joint policy. Her government is to serve until national elections next fall.
She said that, like Tusk, she would urge the EU to develop a common energy policy to protect individual countries against the monopoly practices and delivery cuts that are the practice of the Russian gas supplier, Gazprom.
In a sign of continuity, Kopacz avoided committing herself to a date for Poland's adoption of the European currency, but said that the moment would be right when Poland's economy is stable and the eurozone is strong.
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