Poland's armed forces to get spending boost

'GROM' special services unit parades on Army Day last Friday in Poland: photo - PAP

This will mean an additional 800 million zloty (190 million euro) spent on military purposes every year.

“If the Ministry of Defence decides that in a given period it needs to spend 2.2 percent of the GDP, it will do so. Then it will spend a little less than 2 percent. The average will remain intact,” a source from the governmental legislative group told Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

“We wanted the new rules to be more realistic,” said Deputy Defence Minister Czesław Mroczek. “We need more flexibility in spending money on the army. It will also provide long-term stability in the financing of the Polish armed forces.”

The draft regulation is scheduled to be ready within two months. The changes could then come into force starting from 2016.

In 2015, spending will be higher that 2 percent of the GDP anyway, because Poland will be paying the last instalment for F-16 planes then, Mroczek stressed.

The Polish government hopes that changes in the defence financing scheme will act in favour of increasing the presence of NATO forces in the country.

Increased spending is also aimed at modernising the military as the Ukraine-Russia conflict has demonstrated that Poland's security may be at risk. (kw/pg)