President Komorowski in Lisbon for NATO summit

Bronislaw Komorowski arrived in Lisbon, Friday, to take part in the NATO summit which will shape the future of the alliance in the coming decade.

President Komorowski said at a press briefing before he left for Portugal that the NATO strategic concept, which will be discussed at the summit, was “mostly satisfactory” to Poland and its security interests.

Expected problems at the summit involve a conflict between nations who are members of both NATO and the European Union and those nations who are a member of only one of those organisations.

A shadow is cast over relations between NATO and the EU, Komorowski said, both by the Turkish-Cypriot conflict and the lack of enthusiasm of many EU countries to support the accession negotiations between Brussels and Ankara.

President Komorowski mentioned possible talks with UK prime minister David Cameron this weekend. “I know the prime minister wants to meet,” Komorowski told reporters.

Topics of conversation between the two leaders could include not only NATO but also the 2011 EU budget negotiations, which Great Britain is currently blocking until the European Parliament drops demands for a greater say on finance and tax plans.

During his stay in Lisbon, President Komorowski will also have meetings with Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia and the heads of delegations from Afghanistan, Latvia, Germany, Hungary and Romania.