Poland is praised as a European success story, and with good reason. The nation’s GDP per capita has more than doubled since it joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, making it the sixth-largest economy in the bloc. Warsaw is paying more attention to the situation on its eastern border in Ukraine as it continues to experience economic growth above the EU average, a low unemployment rate, and low debt levels. In fact, it is in a position that necessitates prudence and the development of strong resilience as a front-line nation.
In the past, Poland has played a crucial strategic role in military conflicts between Eastern and Western Europe. Napoleon utilised what is now most of Poland, the Duchy of Warsaw, as a tactical staging ground for his “Grande Armée” in preparation for his invasion of Russia in 1812. Poland was a part of Operation Barbarossa, Adolf Hitler’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. Poland was the primary starting point for the attack because it was already under Nazi German occupation and split between the Soviet Union and Germany at the time. Through present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic states, German forces moved eastward from Polish territory into Soviet territory.
Therefore, in addition to Warsaw’s economic expansion, it is also easy to see why Poland is now at the centre of a historic military corridor connecting Russia and Europe. To put it briefly, it serves as the entryway between Central Asia and Western Europe, as well as Russia. This fact has been reaffirmed numerous times in history. It’s fascinating to see how Poland has emerged as a major player in Europe’s defence sector.
In 2025, Poland will have the highest defence spending ratio of any NATO member, at 4% of GDP. Along with bolstering its eastern borders, Warsaw is also making investments in cutting-edge military equipment. Poland has positioned itself through its military acquisitions at the centre of the future defence of Europe and the Western bloc, with a particular emphasis on interoperability within NATO.
Poland has established itself as an advocate for dual-use technologies in Europe by working hard and making sacrifices. This includes systems, technologies, or goods that have dual military and civilian applications. Unmanned systems like drones, artificial intelligence-based surveillance, and secure communications are being prioritised because they can benefit and expand the domestic industry, much like GPS did for the global economy. Warsaw is moving forward with a plan that promotes technological sovereignty and national (and European) defence.
The country’s development is therefore centred on cybersecurity. In February 2022, it initiated the Cyberspace Defence Forces. This is a complete military cyber command with offensive and defensive capabilities, acknowledging that cyber is now a domain in any conflict. The government also intends to invest close to 2.3 billion pounds in cyber defence by 2026 and has guaranteed over 700 million pounds (USD 807 million) for a “cybershield” to protect the nation. Additionally, it helped establish the Tallinn Mechanism to support Ukraine’s digital resilience and coordinated NATO’s “Cyber Coalition” exercises.
Poland wants to become a major cyber power in Europe, just like its economy. Additionally, it is allocating 6 billion pounds from EU recovery funds to dual-use infrastructure and security, as announced by Minister Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz in 2025. However, Poland is not going to stop there. Through the “Cyber Secure Local Government” initiative, it is further strengthening its core cyberinfrastructure. With an emphasis on innovation through startups, this strategy entails substantial public-private partnerships. Investing in AI and data analytics through Poland’s AI Implementation Centre, which oversees long-term strategy through 2039, naturally completes this.
Poland is also in charge of safeguarding the eastern flank of the transatlantic alliance and participating in regular NATO military drills. Large-scale exercises like Dragon 24, which tested rapid reinforcement and multidomain operations with 20,000 troops and thousands of vehicles in 2024, are held there. It is one of the biggest in Europe. Rapid deployment drills and advanced air missions are also supported.
Politically, Karol Nawrocki defeated Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski by a slim margin in last month’s voting for president. Western and European analysts have hurried to label the new president a nationalist-populist and his opponent a pro-EU contender. Again, I think that persistently alienating conservative forces is a risky course of action. First off, conservative parties have contributed significantly to Poland’s economic successes in recent decades. The geopolitical context of the world and the fact that Poland is the eastern front line of both NATO and the European Union make this framing particularly risky.
Nawrocki’s resistance to Ukraine joining Western alliances like NATO was the catalyst for all of this criticism. Brussels must, however, pay attention and initiate a dialogue when the NATO member that invests the largest portion of its GDP in defence, has welcomed Ukrainians into its territory, and has historically been the first European country to be impacted by any conflict with Russia, expresses this worry. According to an Arabic proverb, there is a distinction between the person who counts the blows and the person who is struck with a stick. It is time to give Poland a stronger voice because it is constructing resilience that will benefit all of Europe.