Poland told allies in advance about dismissal of Eurocorps commander, minister says

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland notified its NATO allies “well in advance” of the dismissal of a Eurocorps commander over a security matter and they showed no concern, the defence minister said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Poland removed Lieutenant General Jaroslaw Gromadzinski from his position as commander of the European military body, after the country’s counterintelligence service launched an investigation into his security clearance.

“There is no concern between us and the allies,” Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on private broadcaster TVN24.

“Yesterday, the French defence chief met with the chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, General Wieslaw Kukula … and said that this is Poland’s internal matter and we are the ones who make decisions.”

Kosiniak-Kamysz said the proceedings were confidential.

Gromadzinski had been serving as commander of Eurocorps – a joint military group of some EU and NATO states – since June 2023. He said in a statement late on Wednesday that he believed he would be cleared.

“I believe that the inspection procedure initiated by the SKW (Military Counterintelligence Service) will end positively for me,” he wrote on the X platform.

The defence ministry said on Thursday that the new commander of Eurocorps would be Lieutenant General Piotr Blazeusz, first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army.