According to the results of the latest nationwide survey conducted by the IBRiS institute on behalf of Rzeczpospolita, 58.4% of Polish citizens are in favor of reinstating compulsory military service, which was abolished in 2009. Only 36.2% were against it, while another 5.4% found it difficult to answer.
The main arguments of supporters:
strengthening the country’s defense capabilities against the backdrop of the war in neighboring Ukraine;
growing threats from Russia and uncertainty surrounding the policies of the new US administration;
the need to rapidly increase the size of the professional army (currently, around 216,000 people serve in the Polish armed forces, with plans to increase this number to 300,000).
Particularly high levels of support were recorded among men (64%) and residents of eastern provinces (up to 72% in Podlaskie and Lubelskie provinces). Among young people aged 18–29, 49% were in favor, which is below the average but still represents almost half of the respondents in this age group.
Minister of National Defense Vladislav Kosiniak-Kamysz has repeatedly stated that there are no plans to return fully to the old conscription model of the 2000s, but that the introduction of compulsory basic military training lasting from 1 to 3 months for all men (and voluntarily for women) is being considered. According to him, such a system is already working successfully in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.