Poland will become the first European Union country to establish a defense fund as part of its national recovery and resilience plan.
This plan aims to utilize EU funds for economic development following the COVID-19 pandemic. This was announced by Poland’s Minister of Finance and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, on the social media platform X.
A total of 30 billion zlotys (€7.2 billion) is planned to be allocated for defense needs under the recovery plan. The Ministry of Finance has already begun negotiations with the European Commission to establish the fund. Within two months, an investment plan will be developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and other government agencies.
Funds for the defense and security program will be provided in the form of preferential loans. As the minister emphasized, these loans will be interest-free and partially forgivable, depending on the investment areas.
Earlier, in early March, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the government was considering reallocating up to 30 billion zlotys from the national recovery plan for defense needs and the development of the military industry.
