Espionage
Jarosław Gromadziński (with microphone). — © getty
Lieutenant General Jarosław Gromadziński is under counterintelligence investigation. He headed the Eurocorps in Strasbourg, until the Polish government suddenly removed him from his position on Wednesday.
“The Military Counterintelligence Service has launched an investigation into the personal security clearance of Lieutenant General Jarosław Gromadziński, in order to obtain additional information about the officer.” The start of the press release from the Polish Ministry of Defense is somewhat cryptic, but the consequence is clear. “It has been decided to dismiss Lieutenant General Gromadziński from his post as commander of the Eurocorps and to return him to the country immediately.” More details are lacking for the time being and it is therefore not clear whether Gromadzinski is involved in leaking sensitive information.
The Eurocorps, based in Strasbourg, France, was founded in 1992 by France and Germany. The other members are Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg and Poland. There are also five associated countries: Austria, Italy, Turkey, Romania and Greece. It’s part of the High Readiness Land Headquarters of NATO and the NATO Response Force. In 2021 and 2022 it provided the command staff for several EUTM missions (European Union Training Mission). Until the middle of last year, the Eurocorps was still led by Belgian Lieutenant General Peter Devogelaere.
Eurocorps is “stable”
Poland itself says that it informed its NATO partners in advance about the dismissal. “There is no problem between us and the allies,” Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Polish news channel TVN24. He also said that there had been discussions between the French Defense Chief and the Polish Defense Chief, Wieslaw Kukula. “This is an internal Polish matter and we are the ones who make the decisions,” Kosiniak-Kamysz added.
The Eurocorps’ communication is very economical, but goes in the same direction. Gromadziński’s duties will be taken over by his deputy. And, “the Eurocorps is stable and will continue to fulfill its missions within NATO and the EU.”
