Local governments face a major challenge. First civil defense subsidies in September

• The first grants for civil protection should be transferred to local governments no later than 30 September 2025.
• This includes money for adapting existing shelters to appropriate parameters and for building new ones.
• The Ministry of Interior and Administration, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Government Security Center are working together on the Security Guide. It is to be one of the educational tools "as part of the system of preparedness and resilience of society to threats related to crisis and war that is being built."

An inventory and assessment of the technical condition of existing civil defense infrastructure is underway throughout the country. It is being conducted by teams consisting of State Fire Service officers, construction supervision employees and civil protection authorities. The planned completion date of the inventory is December 31, 2025.

The information on this subject was provided in response to a parliamentary question by Wiesław Leśniakiewicz, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. Rafał Romanowski, a member of parliament from Law and Justice, asked about the development of civil defense infrastructure in the counties of Ciechanów, Przasnysz, Mława, Płońsk and Żuromin, which he represents. However, the matter concerns all of Poland.

Leśniakiewicz recalled that planning the construction of new collective protection facilities or adapting existing facilities to appropriate utility parameters is the task of "population protection authorities at the municipal, district and voivodeship level". These principles are specified in the act on population protection and civil defense adopted in December 2024. Planning such facilities should take into account the requirements contained in the act and its implementing regulations, e.g. population density, distance from facilities that are a potential target of destruction, the possibility of carrying out an efficient evacuation, the economic justification of the investment, etc.

According to statutory provisions, the costs of implementing such tasks are to be covered from the budgets of municipalities, counties and voivodeship governments.

The government is currently processing the first Population Protection and Civil Defense Program . After its approval, the Minister of Finance is to transfer a portion of the expenditure planned in the "national defense" section for this purpose. Of this pool , no less than 90 percent of the funds will be transferred to local governments, and up to 10 percent of the funds will be at the disposal of the governors. The governors will be able to transfer funds from their pool to local governments only after conducting a substantive and financial analysis of the local governments' applications.

The first subsidies should be transferred to local governments no later than 30 September 2025. In 2025, the bodies and entities responsible for population protection and civil defence should already start planning these expenses for the following year. In 2026, the subsidies should be transferred to local governments no later than 31 March 2026.

Leśniakiewicz also added that the Ministry of Interior and Administration, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Government Security Center are working together on the Security Guide. It is to be one of the educational tools "as part of the system of preparedness and resilience of society to threats related to crisis and war that is being built." It will be prepared in several language versions and in a version for children.

It is also planned to conduct media information and educational campaigns in the field of population protection and civil defense. These issues are also to be discussed within the general education system.

The Deputy Minister reminded that the Ministry of National Defense will organize training in the field of population protection and civil defense, which are to prepare residents to properly react in threat situations.

There will also be training for ministers, secretaries of state and undersecretaries of state, heads of central offices and voivodes, voivodeship marshals and starosts, conducted by the Fire Academy.

On the other hand, training in the field of population protection and civil defense for mayors, city presidents and officials may be conducted, among others, by state service universities, schools and training centers for services subordinate to the Minister of Internal Affairs and other universities, or the Volunteer Fire Department. Training for mayors (mayors, city presidents) will be organized by the governors. Their level will be verified by the Fire Academy.