Poland is set to be connected to NATO’s Central Europe Pipeline System (CEPS), a Cold War-era fuel distribution network, in what officials describe as one of the country’s most significant security investments in three decades. Experts say the move has two goals: ensuring wartime energy security and sending a strong deterrent signal to Russia.

The project, announced in Warsaw on October 3, foresees a 300-kilometer pipeline stretch from the German border to the PERN fuel depot near Bydgoszcz. NATO’s Resource Office has already allocated funds for planning and design, with the work to be carried out by NATO’s Investment Office under Poland’s Ministry of Defense.

“This is a great day for Poland,” said Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk. He noted that full construction will require approval from all NATO members, but if completed, the investment could reach 20 billion złoty (around €4.5 billion).

Two strategic purposes

According to Wojciech Jakóbik, an energy security analyst, the project serves two critical purposes:

Guaranteeing emergency fuel supplies if Poland’s refineries or domestic infrastructure were destroyed. “Russia very quickly destroyed refineries along the Dnipro after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Jakóbik told Fakt. Deterring Russia by demonstrating that Poland cannot be cut off from fuel deliveries during a crisis.

Andrzej Szczęśniak, another energy expert, stressed that the system is designed for wartime use rather than peacetime convenience. “The war in Ukraine showed that energy and fuel infrastructure is extremely vulnerable to attack,” he explained. “Russians target energy facilities not only to cripple logistics but also to undermine civilian morale.”

Part of NATO’s Cold War legacy

The NATO pipeline system dates back to the late 1950s, when it was created to secure fuel supplies for Allied forces in case of conflict with the Soviet Union. Today, the CEPS network connects countries including France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Around 90 percent of its current flows serve civilian needs, primarily supplying major airports such as Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

For Poland, joining the network is both symbolic and practical: a reinforcement of NATO’s collective defense posture on its eastern flank and a safeguard against the type of energy warfare already witnessed in Ukraine.