The row over SAFE after the president’s decision. The government has already found another solution

The dispute over the EU SAFE program has entered a new stage. President Karol Nawrocki announced in his Thursday speech that he would not sign the bill allowing for the implementation of the defense loan mechanism. In response, on Friday, the government adopted a resolution on the Armed Poland Program and indicated an alternative path of action. According to this solution, the loan from the SAFE program is to be taken out by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego for the benefit of the Armed Forces Support Fund.

Funds for army development

In a statement after the meeting of the Council of Ministers, it was announced that the Prime Minister and the government had decided to launch the “Armed Poland” program. The Council of Ministers authorized the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Finance and Economy to sign the SAFE agreement. The government also declared further efforts to obtain funds not only for the army, but also to support the Police, Border Guard and State Protection Service, as well as for the development of road and railway infrastructure important from the point of view of state security.

The adopted resolution also states that the main role in coordinating tasks financed from SAFE is to be played by the Minister of National Defense. At the same time, the government announced the protection of the Ministry of National Defense budget, which is intended to secure national defense expenditure regardless of the new financing mechanism.

The president justified his decision by opposing the incurring of a long-term obligation that, in his opinion, could harm Poland’s sovereignty, independence, economic and military security. In his speech, he argued that investments in defense are necessary, but should be implemented in a responsible manner and without making the state excessively dependent on external financing. At the same time, he recalled his own proposal of “Polski SAFE 0 percent”, i.e. the project of the Polish Defense Investment Fund, which was submitted to the Sejm.

EU loan program

SAFE is an EU instrument for low-interest loans that is intended to allow member states to increase defense spending more quickly, mainly through purchases of military equipment from European manufacturers. According to previous assumptions, Poland was to be the largest beneficiary of the program, with the pool reaching approximately EUR 43.7 billion out of the total amount of EUR 150 billion planned for the entire EU.

At the same time, the president’s circle started work on amendments to the draft SAFE bill. As signaled by the Chancellery of the President, the changes would concern, among others: terms of granting the loan and the rules of its repayment. This means that the political dispute over the method of financing Polish armaments is not over yet, although the government has already shown that it wants to act in its own way after the presidential veto.