Polish defense officials clash over SAFE program loan; Nawrocki flags sovereignty concerns, Kosiniak-Kamysz hails government success.
Nawrocki Raises Concerns Over SAFE Program
Polish Defense Minister Karol Nawrocki participated in a leadership meeting at the Museum of the Polish Army in Warsaw on February 25. He emphasized modernization demands, criticizing slow implementation of AI, unmanned systems, and command structures.
Nawrocki voiced doubts about SAFE program’s sovereignty impact, citing conditional EU funding rules. He demanded disclosure of all 139 SAFE projects to ensure transparency, warning the massive debt could benefit foreign defense firms over Polish industry.
He stressed modernization must serve long-term military needs, not “short-term political goals of any party.”
Kosiniak-Kamysz Praises SAFE as Government Success
Polish Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz addressed SAFE as a government triumph, crediting it as a response to NATO pressure and U.S. calls for increased European defense spending.
“Poland is a winner of the SAFE program,” he declared, highlighting Poland’s stance during its NATO presidency that security takes precedence.
Kosiniak-Kamysz framed SAFE as fulfilling EU and U.S. demands for proportional defense investment after decades of NATO spending disparities.