Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence, on Tuesday, February 15 said, that the ministry has completed the inter-ministerial agreements on the Act on the Defense of the Fatherland and submitted the most important regulation of the Polish Armed Forces to the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers. Thanks to the act, Poland will significantly increase the size of the Polish Armed Forces and its defence expenditures.

In this project, the ministry has created a mechanism giving the opportunity to obtain additional funds for armaments, for the modernization of the equipment of the Polish Army and for increasing its number with a minimum of 250 thousand professional soldiers and 50 thousand soldiers of the Territorial Defence Forces. Minister emphasized that the current 2% GDP for Defence is a minimum, in line with the NATO requirements that Poland already meets. “The mechanisms provided for in the draft act give the government the opportunity to accelerate the modernization processes”, said Mariusz Błaszczak in October last year, presenting the assumptions of the new Act.

The draft does not restore compulsory military service; however, it introduces voluntary basic military service.

“One of the new elements of this project is the intensification of reservists’ exercises. We are counting on military enthusiasts who will have a chance to join the active reserve. It is good for them and for the Polish Army. It will allow teaching a wider group of trained reserve soldiers who can serve in the Polish Army”, said the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

Adrian Andrzejewski