View Gallery

Gallery contains 1 image

×

Photo 1 of 1

Joint Multinational Readiness Ce

A Polish soldier guides U.S. Soldiers in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle off a bridge during exercise Allied Spirit at Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland, June 11, 2020. Exercise Allied Spirit is a Defender-Europe 20 linked exercise involving approximately 6,000 U.S. and Polish soldiers. The modified exercise will test a division-sized unit's ability to conduct a deliberate water crossing, integrate with alliance capabilities and establish a common intelligence operational picture. The exercise, modified in response to COVID-19, operates in accordance with the guidance directed by DoD and host nations. All U.S. Soldiers and civilians involved in the exercise completed a 14-day quarantine and were tested for COVID-19 upon arrival with additional health screenings if necessary. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Randis Monroe)

Download image

Copy text

Photo by: Sgt. Randis Monroe 

The U.S. Embassy in Poland announced today that negotiations on an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) have been completed. 

The EDCA provides for the required legal framework, infrastructure, and equitable burden-sharing to respect and defend both nations' sovereignty and deepen our defense cooperation to address a wide range of regional security issues, advance the National Defense Strategy and strengthen NATO.  

“A deeper, more collaborative U.S.-Poland security partnership is critical in meeting current security threats and challenges,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jessica Meyeraan, USEUCOM's deputy director of partnering, security cooperation and missile defense. “Each day our U.S. service members in Poland stand united with our Allies, determined to defend NATO territory and deter aggression from any adversary.”

“The EDCA will implement the joint vision of our two presidents to enhance the U.S. presence in Poland,” U.S. Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher wrote. “Thank you to all on both sides who worked so hard on this.”

Poland’s Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak emphasized the importance of this agreement to the nation’s security, saying that “we’ll soon sign final agreement on the endured presence of U.S. troops in Poland.”