In recent months, Poland has significantly accelerated its investment plans in the security, defence and technology sectors, introducing two important financial instruments: the National Security and Defence Fund, which is part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRP), and the European initiative SAFE – Security Action for Europe.
National Fund for Security and National Defence
The Polish government has approved the creation of a fund dedicated to supporting strategic projects for national security, with iron capital of approx. €6-7 billion. The funds come partly from the NAP and will be used to finance:
- construction and modernisation of civil and dual-use infrastructure (roads, bridges, shelters, railways);
- interventions to strengthen cybersecurity and protect critical infrastructure;
- modernisation of the defence industry, with a focus on research and innovation.
The management of the fund will be entrusted to Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), which will establish a special purpose vehicle dedicated to the selection and financing of projects. This is an important step towards increasing the country’s resilience and encouraging businesses to participate, including at local level, through subsidised loans and direct investment.
SAFE – Action for Security in Europe
At the European level, Poland is also a protagonist of the new SAFE (Security Action for Europe) initiative, an instrument with which the European Union intends to strengthen its industrial and technological base in the field of defence.
The SAFE programme provides a total ceiling of €150 billion in subsidised loans to Member States to accelerate joint and coordinated investments in strategic projects. Poland has submitted a preliminary application to the European Commission for about 45 billion euros, the highest among all EU countries, and may receive as much as 43.7 billion euros.
The funds will support production and innovation in the defence sector, with a particular focus on European industrial cooperation and the common technology supply chain (at least 65% of components must come from European companies). Warsaw will have to present a national investment plan by November 2025, and the first tranche of funds is expected at the beginning of 2026.
Opportunities for companies and investors
The joint activation of these two instruments – the national fund and the SAFE programme – creates a particularly favourable scenario for companies interested in cooperating with Poland in the areas of defence, cybersecurity, infrastructure and dual-use technologies.
These initiatives mark a new stage for the country, which aims to strengthen its strategic autonomy and become a reference industrial and technological hub for Central Europe. For foreign companies and investors, this means new opportunities for cooperation, participation in tenders and joint development of projects in the coming years.