Poland Adopts National Counter-Terrorism Programme

Main aim of the document is to reinforce the counter-terrorism system, particularly through refinement of the level of training of services and institution, increasing the effectiveness of reaction and refinement of the lines of procedures applied in case of a terrorist threat.

Authors of the National Counter-Terrorism Programme stress the fact that “despite the increased level of terrorist attack danger in the world and involvement of our country within the international counter-terrorism operations, terror threat in Poland,  coming from the persons or organisations who come from so called high-risk countries or countries which are politically unstable, is at a relatively low level, and the Polish territory is treated as a potential reserve target for any attacks”.

Soldiers who are involved in the Polish task forces abroad are the group which is exposed to the terrorist acts the most. What is more, “diplomatic and consular facilities of Poland, which are located in high-risk countries or countries which are politically unstable” may also become a direct target for the terrorists.

Leaders of the individual services, organs and institutions listed in the document as the leading ones are responsible for execution of the detailed tasks covered by the National Counter-Terrorism Programme. They are also obliged to develop schedules and time-lines for these tasks along with planned implementation term, which is to be no longer than 30 days after the National Counter-Terrorism programme enters force. Next, the schedules are received by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and they will need to be accepted by the Inter-ministerial Group dealing with the Terrorism-related Threats.

Ministry of Internal Affairs is going to additionally, annually, develop a report regarding the work progress within the scope of realisation of the Programme. This report is to be discussed at the meetings of the Inter-ministerial Group dealing with the Terrorism-related Threats, and it is going to be submitted to the council of Ministers by 31^st March each year – as Ministry of Internal Affairs informs.

National Counter-Terrorism Programme for the period between 2015 and 2019 has been prepared in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with other services and institutions, which are involved in the activities carried out by the Inter-ministerial Group dealing with the Terrorism-related Threats.