Poland seeks to funnel 6 billion euros in EU funds for defence

WARSAW - Poland is seeking approval to use 26 billion zlotys (6.1 billion euros) in European Union post-COVID recovery funds for investments to boost security and defence, the Development Funds and Regional Policy minister said on Friday.

Minister Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz told journalists investments would be possible in three fields: population protection; industrial modernisation, including research and development; and protection of critical infrastructure, including cybersecurity.

The EU's recovery facility provides Poland with nearly 60 billion euros ($63.1 billion) in grants and cheap loans to be spent by 2026.

"We are the first to introduce such a security and defense fund in the (National Recovery Plan) and I already know that other countries ... are asking how to do it," Pelczynska-Nalecz said.

"We have collected preliminary demand from various ministries and we already know that these needs are huge. They are initially placed at around 90 billion zlotys. The fund is for 26 billion zlotys, but this shows what a huge investment need we have here in Poland."

Pelczynska-Nalecz had earlier indicated the fund would be worth up to 30 billion zlotys.

She said negotiations with Brussels, led jointly by Poland's ministries responsible for defence and EU funds, had started, and that Poland had already secured agreement that investments could be made beyond 2026.

"There are still many things that are important to us, first of all the issue of dual-use infrastructure, issues with road infrastructure, which we want to raise assertively and convince in talks with the (European) Commission that these investments are absolutely crucial."

She said Poland aimed to end negotiations by May 27 and that the European Commission would have until June 20 to decide on approval. National legislation would need to be adopted by the autumn, she added.

Poland already spends a higher proportion of its gross domestic product on defence than any other NATO member, and wants to raise spending to 5% of GDP by next year.