U.S. President Donald Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda hold a joint press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, June 24, 2020 | Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Trump praises Poland’s ‘vigilant efforts to uphold the rule of law’
Polish president was first foreign leader to visit White House since the global pandemic prompted lockdowns.
Poland is making “vigilant efforts to uphold the rule of law,” U.S. President Donald Trump said during a press conference after meeting his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump added this was one of the reasons why Polish citizens were granted access to a visa waiver program in 2019.
“Last year we were able to add Poland to the visa waiver program. They wanted that very badly and we gave it to them, because they really deserve it, it’s a testament to Poland’s vigilant efforts to uphold the rule of law,” he said.
During the White House visit — Trump’s first from a foreign leader since global coronavirus lockdowns began — the two also discussed a defense cooperation agreement, increasing U.S. troops in Poland, and economic cooperation.
The European Commission and Warsaw have continued to butt heads in recent years over Brussels’ view that the country is backsliding on its adherence to rule of law commitments.
The Commission has launched four legal procedures against Poland over rule of law concerns, and triggered the so-called Article 7 disciplinary process over charges that Warsaw is breaching the bloc’s fundamental values, which, if concluded, could strip the country of its EU voting rights.