Pete Hegseth, Secretary of defence in president Donald Trump's Administration, began his first visit to Europe. It will meet with American soldiers stationed in Germany, among others, and will take part in a summit of NATO defence ministers. The last point on the tour of the Pentagon chief will be Poland.
U.S. Secretary of defence Pete Hegseth visits Joint Task Force North at the North Command of the United States, February 2025. Fot. Sgt. 1st Class Andrew R. Sveen
The United States Department of defence reported that 1 of the countries that will visit Pete Hegseth during the European visit will be Poland. U.S. Secretary of defence “will meet with Polish leaders to discuss strong bilateral defence cooperation, deterrence on NATO's east flank and leadership Poland as a model ally in defence investments and burden-sharing in NATO," says the U.S. Administration Communication. Talks with Polish politicians are scheduled for Friday. On Saturday, Hegseth will meet U.S. soldiers who service on the NATO east flank at the Air Base in Powidz.
– This is simply a very serious signal that Poland is simply a proven ally," commented Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz in an interview with Radio Zet. The head of the MON besides recalled that Poland has almost reached the 5% threshold of defence spending proposed by president Trump – this year we will spend about 4.7% of GDP. “There is no second country in Europe that spends so much,” Kosiniak-Kamish noted.
Before the American politician arrives in Poland, he will pay a visit to Germany. According to the Department of Defense, Hegseth will visit 2 U.S. Commands deployed across our western border – the structures liable for US troops in Europe and Africa. He besides has a gathering with American soldiers who service in Germany all day.
On Thursday, the head of the Pentagon will take part in the NATO Defence Ministers Summit at the office of the Alliance in Brussels. It intends to discuss "the request to increase spending to defend allies, grow European leadership in NATO and grow the possible of defence industries on both sides of the Atlantic". 1 of the topics is to affect Europe more in the military aid programme for Ukraine. According to the U.S. administration, at a gathering with Hegseth's allies, "he will repeat president Trump's commitment to ending the war diplomatically in Ukraine as shortly as possible".
Pete Hegseth since January 25, 2025, has been Secretary of defence in president Donald Trump's cabinet. After graduating from Princetown University in 2003, he enlisted in the National Guard. He served in her land troops from 2003 to 2014 and again from 2019 to 2021. Military service ended as major. He is simply a veteran of the mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2014, he began his journalistic career – he became a political commentator on Fox News, and in 2017–2024 he was co-hosting the weekend edition of the program "Fox & Friends".
