Geopolitics
1.25 Billion Zlotys More for the Polish Ministry of Defence. Parliamentary National Defence Commission Discusses the FY2017 Budget
“In 2017, the basic principle, assuming that the defence expenditure is going to be shaped at the level of 2% of GDP, has been adopted.The defence expenditure in the year 2017 is planned as PLN 37.152 billion, and this means that it is going to be 1.25 billion zlotys higher, which constitutes a growth of 1.3 percent” - as we were being assured by Undersecretary of State Bartłomiej Grabski, during the meeting of the Parliamentary National Defence Commission.
The main portion of that budget – ca. PLN 36.854 billion remains at disposal of the Defence Minister, while the remaining expenditure is to be used for science, namely the tasks related to development of the works undertaken by the National Centre for Research and Development – as General Sławomir Pączek clarified.
The largest portion of the budget of the Polish Ministry of Defence is formed by the capital expenditure, the expenditure which has an impact on development of all armed services. This amount constitutes 33.8% of the budget – PLN 12.461 billion. The most important element of the central material expenditure plan is seen within financing the modernization plan programme, which is to amount up to 9.197 billion zlotys in 2017 – 0.68% less than in the preceding year. The Central Building Investment Plan, encompassing all of the investment tasks related to the military infrastructure, along with hospital, university and museum subsidies, is going to be covered by an amount of PLN 1.701 billion.
The largest portion of the budget of the Polish Ministry of Defence is formed by the capital expenditure, the expenditure which has an impact on development of all armed services. This amount constitutes 33.8% of the budget – PLN 12.461 billion. The most important element of the central material expenditure plan is seen within financing the modernization plan programme, which is to amount up to 9.197 billion zlotys in 2017 – 0.68% less than in the preceding year. The Central Building Investment Plan, encompassing all of the investment tasks related to the military infrastructure, along with hospital, university and museum subsidies, is going to be covered by an amount of PLN 1.701 billion.
Polish Ministry of Defence defines the following tasks, within the national investment plan, as the most important ones:
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Establishment of infrastructure, for the purpose of facilitating the formation of the Territorial Defence component of the Army.
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Modernization of the training, staff and garrison facilities,
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Creation of infrastructure for the Naval Missile Unit, C-130 airlifters and for the AJT aircraft,
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Preparing the infrastructure for the purpose of accommodating the military equipment;
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Systems and access control for the military bases and facilities;
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Modernization and expansions of the ICT networks and other means of communication,
- Modernization of the fuel bases, storages and stations.
Moreover, significant growth of expenditure has also been recorded in case of the NATO CPIB programme, as, starting from 2017, 162 million zlotys is the amount which will be spent on that goal – this is a growth of 19%. This is related to the process of establishing the infrastructure for reception of allied reinforcements, as set during the NATO summit in Warsaw. Porażyn fuel infrastructure, infrastructure for the NATO 3rd Communications Battalion or works at the Powidz and Minsk Mazowiecki Airbases have all been taken into account within that scope. Furthermore, material spending at the Polish Ministry of Defence is going to be covered by an amount of PLN 1.4 billion.
A large portion of that amount is used to cover the pension benefits and salaries. Staff costs are defined as PLN 9.173 billion, whereas the Polish Ministry of Defence assumes that average pay is defined as follows: PLN 4558 for the soldiers, PLN 3857 for the civil staff members, while the remaining civil staff may have a salary of 3254 zlotys. When it comes to benefits, the Ministry plans to spend PLN 7.601 billion (20.6% of the whole budget).
It is assumed that the Polish Armed Forces are going to employ 129 thousand people on average, throughout the year 2017, including: 105 thousand professional soldiers, 4 thousand candidates and 20 thousand soldiers of the National Reserve Forces. Furthermore, 2011 officers of Military Intelligence and Military Counterintelligence services, along with 4 thousand soldiers in training and 1530 soldiers of Reserve will also work under jurisdiction of the Polish Ministry of Defence. According to the estimates, 50 thousand civil employees will also work at the Ministry. What is more, the remaining budget expenditure related to maintenance of the military units and training is to be covered by 17.5% of the budget - 6.434 billion zlotys.
The aforesaid tasks include procurement of materials and equipment, maintenance of armament and equipment, repairs and maintenance of the buildings, procurement of energy, taxes, fees, or procurement of services.
When it comes to the task structure of the budget, the most significant expenditure is going to cover the external safety and inviolability - this purpose is going to be covered by an amount of PLN 28.683 billion.