Michal Baranowski

Managing Director, GMF East & Regional Director, Poland
Warsaw Office
GMF East
Leadership,
Staff,
GMF Expert
English
Polish
My Areas of Expertise:
Defense Cooperation Foreign Policy NATO
Central and Eastern Europe Poland

Michał Baranowski is a managing director of GMF East. He was previously a senior fellow and the director of GMF's Warsaw office.

Baranowski provides overall strategic direction and leadership for the organization’s work in Poland, the Baltic states, and the V4 countries. He writes and speaks extensively on NATO, transatlantic relations, and US foreign policy, and is frequently quoted in outlets such as Associated Press, Financial Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Die Welt, Rzeczpospolita, Reuters, Axios, Le Soir, The Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs. He publishes in Polish, American, and European media and policy journals.

Baranowski is a member of the Polish-German reflection group established by presidents of Poland and Germany. He holds a master's degree in European public affairs from Maastricht University, and has studied at Mercer University in the United States and at the University of Oxford.

Media Mentions

by
Michal Baranowski
“ Michał Baranowski, the head of the German Marshall Fund in Poland, said his country has a unique perspective on why spending more on defense is essential. But that doesn’t mean all European countries feel the same way.“It’s clear that Europe is waking up. It’s clear the West is waking up. But the question is if we’re waking up at the pace of relevance,” Baranowski said. “We’re talking about how European defense, and defense in general, is expensive. We kind of understand in this part of the world that what’s really expensive is if Ukraine loses the war, and then we actually have to deal with Russians that feel victorious and are trying to push further.” ”
National Journal
by
Michal Baranowski
“ “We are not talking about something that can be fixed by June or July but needs to be fixed in March or April.” ”
Translated from English
Associated Press
by
Michal Baranowski
“ “There will be lessons for other countries to draw from Poland — both on what to do and not to do — but Tusk has the disadvantage of being the first, trying to clean up without a detox handbook.” ”
The Financial Times
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The EU summit marked “a bittersweet moment in EU’s relations with Ukraine. The EU’s decision to open the negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova is truly historic, even if it’s just a beginning of a long road. The bitterness comes from Hungary’s decision to veto the €50bn financial package, critical for the financial health of the Ukrainian state. ”
Financial Times
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The Baltic Sea will practically become a NATO lake and then Kaliningrad will be the isolated territory. ”
Translated from Spanish
La Vanguardia
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Poland may now return to the decision-making center of the European Union with the possibility of a stable opposition government. ”
Translated from French
Le Parisien
by
Michal Baranowski
“ For the opposition, this is seen pretty widely as an election that if they don’t win this one they might not be able to win another one, that the systemic advantage of the government would be so strong. ”
Vox
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Using the apparatus of the state to back a referendum is another vehicle for funds for campaigns and creates a disparity in the amount of funds used by one side not the other. ”
The Washington Post
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Using the apparatus of the state to back a referendum is another vehicle for funds for campaigns and creates a disparity in the amount of funds used by one side not the other. ”
The Washington Post
by
Michal Baranowski
“ From the point of view of Washington, the Polish-Ukrainian alliance is crucial for the security of the region. ”
Barron's
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Leading security and defense expert, Michal Baranowski, told the Associated Press news agency that Poland gave Ukraine what it could early in the war. With no plans for incoming shipments soon, Baranowski doesn't see Ukraine's fighting capabilities threatened in the near future — but still, he considers Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's comments troubling for Kyiv as it seeks to shore up Western support in the war.

The message is very bad, both for Poland's reputation but also because Poland has been one of the chief advocates of military aid to Ukraine. Saying Poland will not be sending more weapons means that Poland can no longer play this role. ”
DW
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The message is very bad, both for Poland's reputation but also because Poland has been one of the chief advocates of military aid to Ukraine. Saying Poland will not be sending more weapons means that Poland can no longer play this role ”
ABC News
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The message is very bad, both for Poland’s reputation but also because Poland has been one of the chief advocates of military aid to Ukraine. Saying Poland will not be sending more weapons means that Poland can no longer play this role. ”
AP
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Poland is still finding its way in leadership, and it’s about balance. Sometimes it’s worth it to ruffle some feathers, but the western view is that this can be done with a little bit better style ”
Financial Times
by
Michal Baranowski
“ We heard rhetoric reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's, quite black and white, with Cold War overtones. However, it is no longer a question of a block against block confrontation, but of a fragmented world, requiring great diplomatic agility, which the Biden administration has taken on board.
”
Translated from French
Le Monde
by
Michal Baranowski
“ I think for Biden and his administration, Europe as a whole is the most important ally and NATO is the most important alliance. Even if the focus shifts east with the war, it doesn't diminish the role of Germany, France, Britain or Italy. ”
Translated from German
DW
by
Michal Baranowski
“ It is going to be a long war. If we don’t have the political leadership and if we don’t explain to our societies why this war is critical for their security, then Ukraine would be in trouble. ”
AP
by
Michal Baranowski
“ I do have to say that there is a concern, both in Poland and in Ukraine, about the staying power of the US beyond this administration. This war would look entirely different without the support of the US. ”
CNN
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The last year has seen a tremendous change in the way Poland is viewed. In Europe, but especially in the transatlantic alliance. Western leaders and officials, however, now appear more focused on praising Polish leadership than calling the country out. ”
The Washington Post
by
Michal Baranowski
“ President Biden can speak to the Poles, the Ukrainians, but most importantly to the whole transatlantic community and to the American people. ”
DW
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Ukraine would not be able to fight it the way they are without the support of the U.S. and the rest of the West. ”
NBC News
by
Michal Baranowski
“ There is a pretty robust debate going on about security guarantees, but I really don’t think President Biden will want to put this forward now. Instead, the US administration is pushing ahead with “a porcupine strategy”, which means “arm Ukrainians to the teeth so that they can deal with Russia directly. ”
Financial Times
by
Michal Baranowski
“ At the same time, Ukrainians are absolutely not ready to give up any of their territory, not that that would stop the war because Putin would just be encouraged by this. ”
Voice of America
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The Zeitenwende is a process that has started but many people, myself included, think it hasn’t gone far enough ”
France 24
by
Michal Baranowski
“ This missile would not have hit and would not kill two Polish citizens if Russia was not waging the war in Ukraine ”
euronews
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The question now is, how do we, with the Ukrainians, stop Russian air and missile attacks throughout Ukraine and if they spill over to NATO territory? ”
The Washington Post
by
Michal Baranowski
“ NATO, Polish government, and our allies performed pretty well in the following way: The cool heads prevailed. ”
Vox
by
Michal Baranowski
“ If Germany’s zeitenwende is successful, it could be the most consequential change in European security architecture and thinking in a few generations at least. ”
CS Monitor
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The Baltic states used to be considered indefensible in conventional terms. Now the defenses will be much clearer. Finland and Sweden will be right across the sea to bring military reinforcements. Deterrence around the Baltic Sea will certainly improve. ”
Euronews
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Meanwhile, Italy could provide a model for tackling oligarchs: the country has a long history battling the mafia, seizing illicit assets to combat organized criminals.... They created legal instruments that lead to seizures, which has happened with Russian yachts. But I have not seen any of them being sold and put into a fund. That is what would have to happen. ”
The Telegraph
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Bringing Sweden and Finland [into NATO] makes our alliances more secure and military confrontation with Russia less likely, even though it’s clear that Russia, of course, will not like this. ”
CNBC
by
Michal Baranowski
“ I think both the West—and Russia—overestimated Russia's military capabilities. From Putin's perspective, this war was supposed to have lasted only a few days. Now it's clear that Putin will not reach its main political objective of having Ukraine and Ukrainian people be part of Russia's sphere of influence. ”
Newsweek
by
Michal Baranowski
“ We are still more likely than not to see Russia's escalation in Ukraine and certainly the continued destruction of Ukrainian civilian lives. That said, if Russia is indeed considered a defeated power in this war, it would very likely mean the end of Vladimir Putin—as president, at the very least. ”
Newsweek
by
Michal Baranowski
“ It’s a war next door. And on top of that, it’s the Russians who are causing this suffering. In the end, these people are being killed by our enemies. ”
Foreign Policy
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Poland will assume the role of the Federal Republic of Germany during the Cold War. ... From the US point of view, Poland had turned out to be a not entirely reliable partner by making the conflict public instead of resolving it behind closed doors. ”
Deutsche Welle
by
Michal Baranowski
“ When President Biden first talked about his vision of a confrontation between autocracy and democracy, for many people it sounded a little bit theoretical. But now we in Europe are experiencing a real front in that war, and that gives a very clear and understandable reality to this existential fight [Mr. Biden] has been talking about. ”
Christian Science Monitor
by
Michal Baranowski
“ I don’t know if there is any other country to have received such a succession of the highest-ranking US officials. It shows how important Poland is as a kind of bridge to and from Ukraine. ”
Notes from Poland
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The war is pretty much at a stalemate. Russia was hoping for a quick victory, basically a Blitzkrieg, a quick run to Kyiv with a hope to frankly decapitate the Ukrainian government in the first few days. They failed to do it and so the tactic and strategy has changed into a really grueling, grinding war. ”
CNBC
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The question that NATO and the US face is how quickly they can shift from a posture that previously relied largely on deterring Russia through political engagement to a more robust military approach. US forces are still key, because NATO allies in the east see them as far more of a deterrent to Moscow than troops from other European countries and because Russia itself would see any move against NATO as more risky. ”
Wall Street Journal
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The biggest question is not how much public support there is [for Belarusian involvement], but how much room for manoeuvre Lukashenko has versus Putin, and how much he’s entirely a puppet. If he is, that would be the scenario where we could see Belarusian forces as part of Russian military. ”
Financial Times
by
Michal Baranowski
“ I'm very skeptical that the current round of talks will end Russia's war in Ukraine. This war has never been about Ukraine's NATO membership for Vladimir Putin. I'm concerned that from Russia's perspective the talks are meant to buy time for the Russian military to regroup. ”
Newsweek
by
Michal Baranowski
“ If the Americans came across as pushy and twisting Poland’s arm, then the Poles came across as unpredictable to the Americans. This is a scratch on this very shiny new Polish-US relationship, but I don’t necessarily think that it is going to be a very long or persistent scratch. ”
Financial Times
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Both here in Poland and in NATO headquarters, we take the possibility — perhaps intended or unintended — some level of escalation or spillover seriously. We think it unlikely, but so many unthinkable things have already happened. ”
NBC News
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Russian President Vladimir Putin has said right from the start that this is not only about Ukraine. He told us what he wants to do when he was listing his demands, which included the change of the government in Kyiv, but he was also talking about the eastern flank of NATO and the rest of Eastern Europe. ”
AP News
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Supplying Ukraine with MiG-29s will likely be seen by Russia as a significant step up in military help for Ukraine. No one NATO country should be put under pressure to do it alone. ”
Fortune
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Vice President Harris in Warsaw will have a chance to address and smooth over this misunderstanding by clarifying that the US doesn't expect Poland to take an undue risk in organizing the MiG transfer alone. ”
VOA News
by
Michal Baranowski
“ In the event of a Ukrainian military defeat, there will certainly remain forms of guerrilla warfare in the country. Poland could then, according to researcher, serve as a rear base for these fighters. ”
Translated from French
L'Express
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Although Poland could create up to 40,000 additional temporary spaces in a matter of days, it is only effectively able to house 3,500 refugees. ”
EU Observer
by
Michal Baranowski
“ [Europe should do more to assert itself, but not through] a parallel track of negotiations with Russia, but by creating additional defense capabilities, by being clear on sanctions, by being proactive. That’s what we need from Europe as a whole. ”
Wall Street Journal
by
Michal Baranowski
“ I'm in Kyiv and as these new talks in Geneva began, it was very clear from every politician, citizen and foreign policy expert here, that Ukranians are eager to find a solution. ”
DW News
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Poland got what we finally wanted when we joined NATO, which is allied and American troop presence on our soil — to finally bring NATO deployments beyond Germany. ”
New York Times
by
Michal Baranowski
“ For Putin, the only thing that is important is the seat at the high table with the US and not with some pesky Europeans, as the Russians see us. And he's getting that. ”
DW News
by
Michal Baranowski
“ You have zero guarantees that Russia would keep its promise of not escalating further...This is what major wars in Europe were made of, that kind of way of thinking. ”
AFP
by
Michal Baranowski
“ It would be detrimental if Poland, Romania, and other eastern flank countries were excluded from the talks. The reaction would be very negative and it would send a clear signal to Russia that, look: if you need to talk about European security, don’t worry about what those pesky central Europeans are thinking, you just have to talk with the big powers. ”
The Guardian
by
Michal Baranowski
“ For Lukashenko, the episode helped to distract some of the attention from the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus after he stole last year’s presidential election. ”
Financial Times
by
Michal Baranowski
“ We all should be very worried, to be honest, I do share this assessment... This assessment is shared by many here in Warsaw and in Washington, D.C. We are seeing very significant buildup in threats on the border with Ukraine. So it’s really a key moment for the West to step up pressure against Putin. ”
CNBC
by
Michal Baranowski
“ The concern on the government side, and this is why they’re so firm, is that if there is even a process to let people in, this will create a narrative that this is a place where people from Iraq and Syria can be processed into Europe, and the numbers won’t be 4,000, as now, but 30,000. ”
New York Times
by
Michal Baranowski
“ Generally [Angela Merkel] was seen as someone who understood central and eastern Europe. I think she's leaving as Ms. Nord Stream 2, from the Polish perspective. ”
Reuters

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