A new defense agreement between Poland and Germany will facilitate the stationing of Bundeswehr forces on Polish territory. The document, which is to be signed in 2026, will establish “a framework for the presence of German troops and equipment in threat situations.” The first effects of the closer cooperation will be visible as early as April, when the German military will support the construction of the “Eastern Shield” along Poland’s border with Russia.
“Germany is ready to take part militarily in monitoring a ceasefire in Ukraine. This could mean that after a ceasefire, the German military could support Ukraine by operating from neighboring NATO territory,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after the summit of the “coalition of the willing.” Will that country be Poland? All indications suggest so, with the cooperation set to be broad and legally underpinned.
New Agreement – Closer Cooperation
The defense ministries of Poland and Germany are working on a new bilateral defense agreement, as confirmed by Poland’s Ministry of National Defense in response to a query from Niezależna.pl. A special working group has been established. The agreement is to be signed in 2026.
In early December, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed—also in response to questions from Niezalezna.pl—that the declaration summarizing the Polish-German intergovernmental consultations held on December 1, 2025, in Berlin included the following provision:
“For the purpose of a deeper assessment of areas of cooperation in security and defense and the identification of specific bilateral projects, we agreed to establish a working group at the level of the ministries of defense. Its work will be conducted in parallel with, but independently from, negotiations on a new defense agreement, which is to be prepared by the ministries of defense and signed in 2026.”
The ministry led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (PSL) confirmed that the decision to begin work on the new agreement was taken by the defense ministers of Poland and Germany during a meeting in Berlin on December 1, held as part of the intergovernmental consultations.
The Ministry of National Defense (MON) also provided a broader response to our questions.
Work on the new agreement will be carried out by a group of experts representing both defense ministries. (…) As part of ongoing expert-level contacts between representatives of the Polish and German defense ministries, the need was identified to update the legal documents regulating bilateral military cooperation, including the Framework Agreement on Defense Cooperation of June 21, 2011. The main reasons for these changes include the altered security situation in Europe—particularly on NATO’s eastern flank and in the Baltic Sea region—the implementation of military cooperation in new areas stemming from challenges related to hybrid threats, and the dynamic development of new technologies and weapons systems, the ministry informed.
Currently, cooperation—under the existing agreement from April 2011—covers meetings of the competent defense ministers and their representatives, reciprocal visits of military and civilian personnel, exchanges of experience at the expert level, political-military consultations, conferences and seminars, exchanges of information, documentation and training materials, professional advisory services, and assistance in research, repairs, and modernization of weapons and military equipment.
The scope of cooperation—based on existing documents—also includes joint participation in military exercises, the use of military training grounds on the territories of the Republic of Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany, participation of military units in military activities of international organizations, and reciprocal visits of military aircraft and warships to the territories of both countries, “subject to prior arrangements.”
It is precisely these latter issues that are now to be “updated” in a particular way. The aim is to create clear frameworks for an increased, structural possibility of the presence of armed forces and equipment in threat conditions, as well as broader logistical support, according to sources at Niezależna.pl.
Germany and the Eastern Shield
A broader presence of German armed forces than before—though not as extensive as it is expected to be after changes to bilateral agreements—will begin as early as April.
German media reported in December that the Bundeswehr plans to take part in securing Poland’s eastern border as part of Poland’s Eastern Shield Operation. The mission is to last until the end of 2027 and will cover areas near the border with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad region. Several dozen Bundeswehr soldiers are to carry out engineering tasks. As emphasized in the reports, this activity by German forces in Poland does not require Bundestag approval, as the operation is not classified as a combat mission.
From November 2024 to 2025, German Patriot missile defense systems operated in Rzeszów as part of NATO cooperation. Since December 2025, an alert rotation of German Eurofighter jets has been stationed in Malbork, also under NATO auspices. Their task is to patrol the airspace near Kaliningrad.
On September 18, 1999, by decision of the defense ministers of Denmark, Germany, and Poland, the Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) was established. It is headquartered in Szczecin and constitutes a higher-level multinational tactical unit within NATO structures, encompassing military formations deployed on the territories of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.