Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Thursday that the fund would help deliver on a pledge made a year ago by Prime Minister Donald Tusk to make Poland "the safest place in Europe."
"Poland needs a shield and a sword to defend itself but also to deter potential adversaries," he said, adding that the goal is for Poland to be the strongest country in the region and a genuine leader of NATO's eastern flank.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland has never invested so heavily in its own security, calling the fund unprecedented in Europe.
It was created by converting PLN 23 billion from the EU's National Recovery Plan — "the first fund of its kind in Europe," he said.
Finance Minister Andrzej Domański said the fund rests on two pillars. The first, a lending arm, will channel money to local governments for projects strengthening civil protection and local resilience — including shelters, warning and detection systems, mobility infrastructure and cybersecurity projects.
The second pillar involves equity investment, run through a state vehicle called Chrobry, with PLN 7 billion (EUR 1.6 billion) earmarked for stakes in defense-sector companies, advanced technology, transport and energy firms.
Domański called this a shift in philosophy, since the goal is not to fund the military's daily operations or arms purchases, he said, but to invest directly in Polish companies and expand their production capacity.
"The mechanism here is simple," he said. "Chrobry invests, takes a stake in a company, supports the growth of its production capacity, and once the investment and production targets are met, it exits the project."
Domański also argued that economic strength and security are inseparable.
"There is no security without a strong economy, and no strong economy without security," he said.
"Security, stability and strong institutions mean not only greater resilience for the state, but also greater investor confidence, better conditions for doing business and faster economic growth," he added.
Funds targeted at eastern border, defense firms
Deputy Defense Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, the government's representative for strengthening state resilience, described the fund as part of Poland's effort to reshape the EU "from within," alongside the bloc's SAFE defense investment program.
She said SAFE funding will flow into the defense industry more broadly, while the new fund will directly support local governments, especially those along the "Eastern Shield" border fortification project.
The fund will also finance roads, rail links and investment in defense industry firms, including small ones, she said, expressing hope it would give further momentum to building the state's resilience.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP