25 years ago, Poland joined NATO
12.03.2024
On March 12, 1999, our country was admitted to the North Atlantic Alliance – the largest and strongest defense pact in the history of the modern world. Polish's accession to NATO was one of the most important decisions after 1989. This is a great, bipartisan work of which we should be proud.
NATO as one of the main pillars of Polish's security
Membership in the North Atlantic Alliance is one of the most important guarantees of our security. Article 5, which states that an attack on one NATO country is an attack against all NATO countries, is the cornerstone of the Alliance's deterrence power.
Since joining NATO, Poland has responsibly fulfilled all the obligations that arise from membership in the Alliance. We are also making an important contribution to strengthening it. Nearly 75,000 Polish soldiers and military personnel have participated in NATO missions and operations so far.
Since Polish accession to NATO, numerous allied or Alliance-affiliated military structures have been located on the territory of our country. We have also completed many investments as part of NATO's special investment programme, the total value of which is PLN 7.8 billion.
Poland is a leader in NATO – we spend more than 4 per cent of GDP on defence
Our country belongs to the group of NATO countries that spend the most on defence spending.
In 2024, we plan to allocate approx. 4.2% of GDP, i.e. approx. PLN 160 billion, for this purpose. Half of this sum is spent on the modernisation of the Armed Forces, which puts us in first place in NATO.