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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
President Andrzej Duda has submitted a proposal to change Poland’s constitution so that it guarantees the country will spend at least 4% of GDP each year on defence and security.
Constitutional change in Poland requires the support of a two thirds supermajority in parliament, meaning much of both the ruling coalition and opposition would have to vote in favour.
Today, Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed willingness to consider Duda’s proposal while opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński declared his support for it.
Dziś w Sejmie Prezydent @AndrzejDuda złożył wniosek o zmianę Konstytucji, mającą na celu zagwarantowanie wydatków na obronność na poziomie minimum 4% PKB.
✔️ Taki zapis zapewni stabilność finansowania Sił Zbrojnych, umocni nasze bezpieczeństwo i uchroni kluczowe inwestycje… pic.twitter.com/6NEltH8zpf
— Kancelaria Prezydenta (@prezydentpl) March 7, 2025
The president’s chancellery announced on Friday afternoon that Duda had submitted a bill to the Sejm, the more powerful lower house of parliament, that would amend the constitution to introduce the 4% security spending minimum.
The justification to the legislation notes that “the aggressive international policy pursued by Russia for many years has resulted in a significant change in the security environment of Poland and other European countries”.
This “justifies the need to conduct a continuous process of strengthening the security system of Poland and Europe, both in the military and non-military dimension”, it adds.
Speaking to journalists after meeting with Sejm speaker Szymon Hołownia, Duda said that current global conditions, in particular the war in Ukraine, have shown the necessity for not only Poland but all of Europe to bolster its defence spending.
The president noted that Poland has already hugely increased its defence budget, which reached 4.1% of GDP last year and is set to hit 4.7% this year. Both figures are the highest relative level in NATO.
This modernisation of the army, which has included buying billions of dollars of new hardware, “is a neverending process because this equipment must be maintained in future”, said Duda. “There will always be costs associated with it.”
Poland’s President Duda has submitted a request for NATO to increase minimum defence spending by members to 3% of GDP, up from 2% currently.
"If the entire alliance does not increase its spending, then unfortunately Putin may want to attack again" https://t.co/BgwOLc5zqm
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 7, 2025
Acknowledging that constitutional change requires a two thirds majority in the Sejm, the president said that “security requires a serious political consensus” and expressed hope that his bill would be quickly approved.
Duda, who is aligned with the conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, is generally opposed to the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. But he expressed satisfaction that they largely cooperate on security issues, on which they are in “constant contact and consultation”.
“I feel we are acting together here: the prime minister is moving in European spaces, I am moving in Euro-Atlantic spaces,” said Duda, referring to Tusk’s close ties with EU partners and the president’s strong relationship with Donald Trump.
Europe must "join and win the arms race” with Russia if it wants to "avoid a wider, large-scale conflict, says Poland's @donaldtusk.
"This is a turning point at which Europe has understood what responsibility rests upon it" https://t.co/mrxII7fs3V
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 6, 2025
Speaking to reporters in parliament, Tusk indicated a willingness to consider Duda’s proposal, saying that he “sees no reason to contest it” though also cautioning that there remain a lot of questions to answer.
“We [already] spend [almost] 5% and I do not foresee a decrease in spending in the near future,” said Tusk. “Should we write it down in the constitution? We would have to think about it. The constitution has other provisions on the deficit, the spending ceiling, so it would have to be seriously analysed.”
Meanwhile, PiS leader Kaczyński told reporters that he thinks Duda’s proposal is a “good idea”. He added that, if it were up to him, he would even set the defence spending minimum at 5% of GDP.
Asked if he would be willing to discuss the issue with the government, Kaczyński said that “of course we can talk”. But he added that it would be “problematic” for him personally to speak with Tusk, who is a longstanding and bitter rival. “It might be better if others [do it].”
Poland will introduce "military training for every adult male" to ensure they can "become full-fledged soldiers in conflict situations", says PM @donaldtusk.
"It must become a tradition that every healthy man should want to train to defend the homeland" https://t.co/qQUjHga0vy
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 7, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Marek Borawski/KPRP
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
