“In 2023, 25,200 soldiers were called up for professional military service, while in 2024, that number dropped to 19,400. There is a clear decline,” said MP Arkadiusz Czartoryski (Law and Justice – PiS) in the Sejm. The opposition MP claimed that this trend is a result of criticism directed at military events, during which Polish army equipment was showcased.
The government’s draft amendment to the Act on the Military Property Agency will return to the defence committee. The draft, which would allow the Minister of National Defense to transfer or sell selected military equipment to another state, has received an amendment submitted by the Confederation party. The Confederation Parliamentary Club proposes that the transfer of such equipment should require approval from the parliamentary defence committee.
The draft legislation concerning the Military Property Agency includes provisions under which the Minister of National Defense, based on a government resolution, would be authorized to transfer or sell selected military equipment or ammunition to the armed forces of foreign countries. The draft also notes that the proposed changes will enable the Military Property Agency—an entity specialized in the trade of military equipment, ammunition, and dual-use materials—to carry out these tasks, thus relieving the Polish Armed Forces of this responsibility.
Czartoryski: I understand that you have a problem
One of the proposed amendments, as noted by MP Arkadiusz Czartoryski (PiS), pertains to assigning promotional functions to the Military Property Agency.
“I understand, Mr. Minister, that you have a problem, because according to information provided by the Ministry of National Defense, 25,200 soldiers were called up for professional military service in 2023, and only 19,400 in 2024. That is a clear drop,”
said Czartoryski.
He also reminded the current government that when they were in opposition, they criticized promotional activities related to the military. “But the result of that criticism—or the abandonment of those activities—has been a drastic decline in recruitment to the professional army,” he added.
“You’ve now come up with the idea that the Agency will take over this promotion—so now, the promotion will be cheerful, just like the smiling Poland that appears in Civic Platform’s political symbols. It will no longer be grim and subject to criticism, as it was when you attacked Minister Mariusz Błaszczak. It will now be cheerful because the Agency will be handling it,”
the PiS MP said ironically.
“Poles want to see their soldiers, their equipment—they want to see them up close. At picnics, precisely,”
he concluded.