Polish president calls for defence spending hike to 5% of GDP at Armed Forces Day parade

Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki said on Friday he would push for a cross-party deal to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP, as the country marked Armed Forces Day with one of its largest military parades in years.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki speaking at the Armed Forces Day military parade.Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz

Speaking before thousands of troops marched down Warsaw’s Wisłostrada boulevard, Nawrocki said Poland must commit “not for years, but for decades” to strengthening its armed forces amid global security threats.

“I will seek an over-political commitment by the president and prime minister, present and future, to build our defence system in one direction,” Nawrocki told the crowd, adding that the decision to allocate 5% of GDP to the military should be taken “as soon as possible” to ensure national security.

The president vowed to expand Poland’s munitions production, aiming for annual output of one million 155mm artillery shells and half a million tank rounds, and said Poland should aspire to have “the strongest army in NATO in Europe” in the coming years.

Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland was already the alliance’s third-largest army by troop numbers but aimed within five years to be on the “operational capabilities podium” among NATO states.

He highlighted recent arms contracts, the return of tank production to Poland after two decades, and the “East Shield” fortifications project along the eastern border, developed with allies as part of a “Baltic Line of Defence”. The minister also pledged to finalise the long-delayed Orka submarine programme.

The parade featured over 4,000 soldiers, nearly 50 aircraft including F-16 fighter jets, and some 300 armoured vehicles such as Leopard, K2 and Abrams tanks, Patriot air defence systems and HIMARS artillery. For the first time, a parallel naval parade was held off the coast of the Hel peninsula.

Armed Forces Day, which commemorates Poland’s 1920 victory over Soviet forces in the Battle of Warsaw, also included nationwide military picnics and will be followed on Saturday by the opening of the Warsaw Battle Museum in Ossów, accompanied by a battle re-enactment and historical displays.

(tf)

Source: PAP

Radio Poland