Warsaw  - Poland's army, the largest in eastern Europe, will become an all-volunteer force by 2010 and shed some 4,000 soldiers, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday.

The overhaul is part of efforts to make NATO member Poland's forces more efficient and better prepared for missions abroad as well as territorial defence, Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said.

Under the plan approved Tuesday by Tusk's cabinet, the army - currently about 124,000 strong - will be cut to 120,000, of whom 30,000 will be reserves.

Conscription will end in December 2008.

Critics fear that Poland won't pull in enough volunteers. A recently-launched advertising campaign targets young people with television spots and billboards, saying "Join the Best."

Poland is a member of NATO and has soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tusk has scheduled a complete withdrawal from Iraq by October. (dpa)