The first calls for applications under Poland’s Security and Defence Fund are expected to open within the next few weeks. PLN 26 billion from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan will be allocated to investments designed to strengthen national security.
Half of the funding will go to local governments, while the other half will be made available to businesses and state-owned companies. The financing will support, among other things, the construction of shelters, the modernisation of roads of defence importance and the expansion of industrial production capacity.
The Security and Defence Fund is a new instrument created as part of the revision of Poland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan. It will operate through two mechanisms.
Local governments will receive preferential, long-term loans from Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Poland’s development bank, for investments related to civil protection and dual-use infrastructure. BGK’s loan programme is expected to launch in July.
Meanwhile, BGK Chrobry will be responsible for equity investments supporting the development of companies operating in the defence sector. Loans for local governments will be interest-free, with repayment periods of up to 20 years. In certain cases, part of the debt may be written off.
“These will be the first funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan allocated to security and defence. Calls for local governments will cover the construction of shelters, roads and dual-use infrastructure,” Jan Szyszko, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, told Newseria.
Four Main Areas of Investment
The Security and Defence Fund will finance investments across four key areas.
The largest share of funding, approximately PLN 9.9 billion, will be allocated to civil protection, including the construction of shelters and temporary refuge facilities, as well as the protection of critical infrastructure.
Another PLN 6.4 billion will support the development of dual-use infrastructure, primarily roads and railway lines important for military mobility. Just over PLN 4 billion will go to companies increasing production capacity for defence purposes, while PLN 2.5 billion will be allocated to cybersecurity.
“The funds from the Security and Defence Fund will be distributed nationwide, so we cannot say with certainty which regions will receive more and which will receive less. However, given that this concerns security, defence and infrastructure, eastern Poland is naturally in a more favourable position when applying for these funds,” the deputy minister says.
Local governments carrying out dual-use investments, serving both peacetime and crisis-response purposes, will be eligible for support. Preferential loans may be used, among other things, to build or modernise regional, county and municipal roads, short railway sections or, in justified cases, landing strips.
Businesses, in turn, will be able to apply for funding for investments that increase production capacity for the defence industry.
“We are talking about investments such as shelters, regional, municipal and county roads, meaning local-government roads, in sections no longer than 15 kilometres, short railway sections and, in justified cases, landing strips. There will also be funding to expand production capacity at industrial or defence manufacturing facilities,” Jan Szyszko explains.
Shelters and Civil Protection Infrastructure
The need to expand protective infrastructure has long been one of the greatest challenges facing Poland’s security system.
According to data from the State Fire Service, Poland has approximately 1,900 shelters and nearly 8,700 temporary refuge facilities, with capacity for around 1.4 million people in total. However, the Supreme Audit Office has pointed out that many of these facilities do not meet modern technical standards.
The current Civil Protection and Civil Defence Act provides for the gradual expansion of protective infrastructure, while the Security and Defence Fund is expected to become one of the main sources of financing for these investments.
At the same time, negotiations are under way on the European Union’s new multiannual budget for 2028–2034. The European Commission has proposed making security and resilience among the main priorities of the next financial framework.
Poland is seeking to retain its position as the largest beneficiary of cohesion policy and to increase funding for security-related investment.
“Poland will be the largest beneficiary of the new EU budget. EUR 123 billion will be allocated to our country. Negotiations are currently under way on the conditions for investing this money.
“A significant share will certainly go towards broadly defined security. Security is also understood as high-quality infrastructure that ensures good local public services and, where necessary, shelters, while also supporting the development of defence manufacturing facilities that offer quality jobs,” says the Deputy Minister of Funds and Regional Policy.
