The decision of the Council of Ministers means that the addendum to the NRP approved by the government on 27 January 2025, will be supplemented as part of the ongoing revision. This will allow for flexible re-allocation of funds from the NRP for defence capacity strengthening goals and the creation of the Fund for this purpose.

The re-allocation of NRP funds for defence purposes is consistent with the European Commission priorities defined by President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen on 4 March 2025 under the ReArm Europe plan.
It is also compliant with the conclusions of the European Council of 6 March 2025 which indicate the need to enhance activities aimed at strengthening the resilience and defence capabilities of EU Member States.

Objectives of the Security and Defence Fund

The resources of the Security and Defence Fund will be used to reinforce Poland's defence and security capabilities. They will be used for funding:
•    infrastructure and sectors related to dual-use products and technologies (e.g. secure communication systems);
•    infrastructure necessary to protect the population and critical infrastructure (e.g. shelters, protection of power grids);
•    research and development in the area of security;
•    modernisation of military and security sector companies;
•    cyber security, particularly for local authorities.

The Fund will have the opportunity to invest within the support areas arising from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation, including economic resilience and competitiveness, green and digital transformation.

Beneficiaries of the SDF will include:
•    local government units;
•    enterprises (including State Treasury companies);
•    scientific entities and consortia of such entities.

Financing of the Security and Defence Fund
Resources for the defence and security programme under the Fund will be provided in the form of preferential, low-interest loans or partially redeemable equity investments, depending on where and how they will be invested.
In addition to NRP funds, the Fund may be supported from other sources, including cohesion policy funds. Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego will be responsible for the operational management of the Fund.
Due to the establishment of the Fund, it will also be possible to use NRP funds beyond 2026.

SDF Steering Committee
The Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy will be the institution responsible for the implementation of the investment projects.
The Steering Committee will be established to develop, among others, the investment priorities and selection criteria for projects financed by the SDF.
Its members will include representatives of: Ministry of Defence, Ministry of State Assets, Ministry of Digital Affairs, Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Ministry of Development and Technology, Ministry of Infrastructure and Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy.
Re-allocation of funds from the Green Urban Transition (GUT) programme
Resources for the Security and Defence Fund of up to PLN 30 billion will be re-allocated from part of the Green Urban Transition Facility.
Re-allocation of funds to the SDF will not prevent local authorities’ continued use of the GUT programme. The Green Urban Transition programme will be continued and the proposals already received as well as contracts signed will be implemented. It should also be emphasised that the beneficiaries of the Fund will include local authorities - they will have an access to funding of needs related to the security of their residents.

Additional funds for entrepreneurs
The addendum document adopted by the government also includes solutions related to transferring the contribution from the grant part of the NRP to the so-called national module under the InvestEU programme. Due to this change, additional funds will be available for investment and activities of Polish entrepreneurs.
The proposed NRP contribution to InvestEU - approx, PLN 830 million (approx. EUR 200 million) has a form of a pilot project, with a possibility to increase the amount of funds in the autumn.

Roadmap
The decision of the Council of Ministers to re-allocate funds from the NRP to the Security and Defence Fund will also enable launching of the work on the act of law creating the SDF without any delay. 
The Fund will be launched in Q3 2025 (publication of calls for proposals by BGK, commencement of application acceptance, conclusion of contracts, and subsequent implementation of investment projects).
Following the acceptance of the addendum, the MDFRP will forward an updated NRP revision document to the European Commission. The approval of the new NRP is scheduled on 20 June this year.

Revision of the NRP
In addition to the amendments in the scope of the SDF and InvestEU, the revision of the NRP will include other changes that will better adjust the specific nature of the NRP to the needs of Polish economy, e.g. replacement of tachographs, thermal modernisation of schools.