Prime Minister Donald Tusk demands immediate specifics from President Karol Nawrocki and NBP head Adam Glapiński regarding their “Polski SAFE 0%” defense financing alternative.
Confusion Around Presidential and Prime Minister Meeting
On Wednesday (March 4), President Karol Nawrocki and NBP head Adam Glapiński presented a concept of “polski SAFE 0 percent,” intended as an alternative to the EU’s loan program for defense. President Nawrocki announced he would send invitations to Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz for a meeting “still on Wednesday.”
Chief of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister Jan Grabiec stated on Thursday evening that Prime Minister Tusk had not received an official invitation to the Presidential Palace to discuss the presidential proposal. He also mentioned that no meeting date between the prime minister and president had been set.
Minister Andruszkiewicz, however, claimed on Friday that Grabiec was lying, stating that there was indeed contact between the parties before 7 PM on Thursday.
We Won’t Postpone This Indefinitely
When asked if a meeting date was established during the Thursday conversation, Andruszkiewicz replied that “next week might be the optimal time” and that it largely depends on President Nawrocki’s schedule since he is the host.
“We won’t postpone this indefinitely, as this is not a topic we can delay. We want to talk about this, but I don’t understand why, right from the start, create such an atmosphere that there was no contact on our side when there was,” said Andruszkiewicz.
Meanwhile, Vice Premier and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz appealed to President Nawrocki on Friday morning to sign the SAFE-related legislation, emphasizing that “these funds are very much needed.”
A Scam for Internal Use
Vice Premier and Digital Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski assessed on Friday morning that President Karol Nawrocki “wants to have an excuse for a veto” regarding the EU SAFE program.
“For me, as a politician but also as a Pole who has observed politics for years, the choice is different. Either we take this money, or we commit treason. Either we take this money and arm Poland for war, or we commit treason against Poland’s security,” Gawkowski stated.
He added that “‘Polski SAFE 0 percent’ is a scam for internal use.”
EU SAFE Program vs. “Polski SAFE 0%”
The proposal by President and NBP head “Polski SAFE 0 percent,” unlike the EU program, would be financed with the help of the National Bank of Poland. Glapiński emphasized that the alternative to SAFE “would not involve any financial interest rates” and the central bank does not plan to finance the proposal from “any part of NBP reserves” as this would be against the law.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk appealed to the president to sign the SAFE implementation legislation as quickly as possible. He also requested precise information from the NBP head about financial possibilities and details of the “SAFE 0 percent” proposal.
Poland is expected to be the largest beneficiary of the EU SAFE loan program – it could obtain approximately 43.7 billion euros, or nearly 200 billion złoty. According to government declarations, 89% of SAFE funds are to go to Polish defense companies.
