Poland pioneers in shifting EU funds to defence, minister says
Poland is "blazing a trail" when it comes to using the EU's post-pandemic funds for defence, Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has said.
Poland has created a EUR 24 billion Security and Defence Fund (FBiO), a special facility financed by money redirected from the EU-funded post-pandemic National Recovery Plan. This new fund aims to enhance the Polish defence sector, broaden the nation's strategic infrastructure, and foster the development of cutting-edge defence technologies.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said at a press conference devoted to the FBiO on Friday that Poland was "blazing a trail" in establishing such a fund, adding that Polish taxpayers understood that security was a priority and significant funding must reallocated from other spending areas.
We must arm ourselves, demonstrate resilience and deter any potential aggressors against Poland and Europe
Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, the minister for funds and regional policy, said that more EU member states would follow in Poland's footsteps.
We're the first to launch such a fund within the KPO and we are already aware that further countries are following our example
She went on to say the fund would address various sectors, including civil protection, industrial modernisation and the safeguarding of critical infrastructure, particularly IT systems.
"We have already collected initial requests from various ministries and they are are preliminarily estimated to total around PLN 90 billion (EUR 21.18 bln)," Pelczynska-Nalecz added. "This shows how significant the Polish investment requirements are." (PAP)
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