Poland set to lose NATO eastern flank defense spending lead by 2026

Rzeczpospolita reports that Poland will cease to be the leading NATO eastern-flank defence spender, having contributed roughly 4.3% of its GDP in 2025. The upcoming 2027 defence budget, set at 198 billion zł, is marginally smaller than the 2026 plan, and with an anticipated economic expansion of about 4%, the share of GDP allocated to defence will decline. Deputy Prime Minister and defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz explained that the lower nominal budget is offset by VAT-free procurement funded through the EU SAFE loan.

Meanwhile, Baltic states plan to maintain higher defence spending ratios, and Germany intends to spend nearly 140 billion euros, the largest amount since the Cold War. Other regional countries such as Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary have announced modest or unchanged defence budgets.