Poland drafts defence readiness bill to accelerate troop deployments and NATO integration

Legislative overhaul for national defence

The Polish Ministry of National Defence is drafting a comprehensive bill on the state's defence readiness to restructure national security procedures and public administration duties. The project, which in earlier stages carried the working title of defence readiness of the state for war, aims to consolidate operational rules that became fragmented across several Council of Ministers regulations following the adoption of the Homeland Defence Act in spring 2022. Defence ministry officials stated that regulating core defence mandates through subordinate executive orders created legal inconsistencies across public administration bodies. The draft act seeks to elevate these requirements into statutory law to ensure a uniform approach to national defence tasks.

Such a regulatory model makes it difficult to ensure the consistency of regulations and a uniform approach to the implementation of defence tasks by public administration bodies and other entities participating in the state defence system.

Operational integration and NATO alignment

The legislation introduces legal instruments to bridge the operational gap between standard peacetime governance and the formal declaration of a state of war. A source associated with the presidential administration explained that the legislation prepares state structures for pre-war conditions previously mentioned by Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Under the draft measures, Polish military authorities will be authorized to carry out earlier redeployments of both domestic troops and allied forces. The legislation directly synchronizes the Defence Response Plan of the Republic of Poland with the allied NATO Response System documentation, while mandating specific infrastructure preparations to facilitate military movements.

Modern security challenges and civilian workforce rules

The statutory framework adjusts existing regulations to address contemporary non-military and asymmetric security threats, focusing specifically on hybrid operations, cyberattacks, and disinformation campaigns. To address these risks, the act expands the total number of entities participating in the constant duty network and the state defence management system. In addition, the draft regulates the specific legal status and working arrangements for civilian employees assigned to command posts with restricted ability to return home during crises. The provisions also update operational planning in the non-military sphere and establish revised guidelines for defence programming documentation.

Training programs and parliamentary process

The proposal reorganizes the framework governing defensive training curricula, specialized defence courses, and the execution of national defence exercises across state bodies. The draft text is currently undergoing internal ministerial consultations within the Ministry of National Defence, led by Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. The Polish government has not yet determined a calendar date for when the bill will be introduced to the Sejm for parliamentary debate. Officials at the National Security Bureau are awaiting the delivery of the draft text to review the provisions ahead of legislative proceedings.