Poland’s government initiative to promote local content, meaning a greater role for domestic companies in major investment projects, is gathering momentum. A Code of Good Practice in this area will be distributed not only to state-owned companies, but also to local authorities and private businesses.
The Ministry of State Assets has also established cooperation with Statistics Poland to measure the domestic component of investments, initially in the energy sector. According to the ministry, the market has responded positively to the initiative, with interest extending far beyond the institutions originally expected to participate.
“Investments currently being carried out in Poland, both in the energy sector and in national defence, involve projects worth billions and must include a local content component,” Grzegorz Wrona, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of State Assets, told the Newseria news agency during the second Poland Security Forum 2026.
“We want the money that taxpayers spend on these investments through the state budget to return to their pockets through the participation of companies that employ people in Poland, pay taxes here and develop their expertise here. This can become a driving force for the Polish economy.”
Four Pillars of Poland’s Local Content Strategy
Poland’s systemic approach to local content is based on four pillars.
The first involves strengthening the market position of domestic companies by including them in the supply chains of major investment projects and developing strategic business and manufacturing capabilities.
The policy is also intended to improve security of supply at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, particularly in strategic sectors such as energy and defence.
Another pillar is a long-term state procurement policy under which public contracts are expected to support economic development. The strategy also includes the creation of financial and other instruments designed to support companies carrying out investments.
In June, Prime Minister Donald Tusk signed the Code of Good Practice, an important element of the “Local Content. For the Benefit of Poland” programme.
The document contains practical measures intended to support the repolonisation of the economy by increasing the participation of domestic companies and products in key investment processes carried out by companies partly or fully owned by the State Treasury.
The package also provides for the introduction of management objectives supporting local content.
“Local content officers are being appointed in all state-owned companies,” Wrona said. “They are responsible for ensuring that companies supervised by the Ministry of State Assets implement the local content policy.”
“At the same time, we can already see a response from suppliers. Companies are registering their headquarters in Poland, developing their capabilities here and considering the employment of people living in Poland so that they can participate in this major investment process.”
State-Owned Companies to Face Local Content Targets
Alongside the Code of Good Practice, other instruments supporting local content include Poland’s State Procurement Policy for 2026–2029, adopted in March, and key performance indicators.
According to the Ministry of State Assets, supervisory boards at state-controlled companies will be able to assess management boards on their implementation of local content objectives.
The ministry recommends that local content be widely adopted as a procurement policy model by state institutions, local government units, municipal companies and private businesses.
State Assets Minister Wojciech Balczun recently described the programme as a cross-party initiative that had received a positive response from the market. He said interest in the project was significantly broader than originally anticipated.
The initiative is also involving an increasing number of public institutions and companies.
On 10 July, the Ministry of State Assets and Statistics Poland signed an agreement on cooperation in measuring the participation of domestic companies and products in investment projects.
The pilot study will cover the energy sector, particularly offshore wind power, where some of Poland’s largest investment projects are currently being implemented.
The study is expected to continue until 31 December 2026. Its findings and the experience gathered during the pilot programme will form the basis for extending the research to other sectors of the economy.
Ministry Calls for Greater Confidence in Polish Companies
“The greatest threat to local content is a lack of courage when making decisions in which we should give preference to what is important for us as Poles,” Wrona said.
“We need to believe not only that we are capable of carrying out these projects in Poland and abroad, but also that we can jointly build the Polish economy. It must be strong enough to compete with other economies in Europe and around the world.”
According to the deputy minister, most European Union countries already apply some form of local content policy.
“There are attempts to discredit this approach by claiming that the French will be offended by what we are doing. Yet we are not offended when we are unable to enter certain areas of the French supply market,” he said.
“The same applies to Switzerland, which is also a good example, particularly when it comes to employing its own workers.”
The Ministry of State Assets says incorporating local content principles into state procurement policy will mean moving away from a model based on “buying at the lowest price” towards one based on “buying wisely.”
The ministry expects this approach to generate long-term benefits for the domestic economy.
Similar policies designed to support local supply chains are already applied by some of the European Union’s largest and most technologically advanced economies, including France, Germany and Denmark. These countries use procurement and industrial policies to protect and develop strategically important sectors.
