Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk links Hungary’s blocking of EU aid for Ukraine with Polish opposition to defense program SAFE.
Hungary Blocks EU Aid for Ukraine
Hungary has announced it will block a European Union loan for Ukraine worth 90 billion euros until the resumption of oil transit to Hungary via the Friendship pipeline. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by blocking oil transit in cooperation with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition to cause disruptions in supplies and raise fuel prices before elections.
Polish Opposition Leader Criticizes Both Actions
“Just as Prime Minister Orban blocked European aid for Ukraine, Kaczyński is trying to block SAFE, which is money for defense and the Polish arms industry. Guess who is happy,” wrote Donald Tusk on Saturday, February 21, on X.
Kaczyński Expresses Concerns About SAFE Program
On February 13, the Sejm adopted a bill implementing the EU’s defense support program SAFE (Security Action for Europe). It was supported by MPs from the ruling coalition and the Razem Party, while PiS, Konfederacja, and Konfederacja Korony Polskiej of Grzegorz Braun voted against it. Jarosław Kaczyński wrote on X that entering the program in this form would mean “years of financial dependence on the catalog of products specified by the European Commission.”
Government Official Defends SAFE Program
Government Plenipotentiary for SAFE Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka commented on concerns about the program’s conditionality. “We probably have one of the biggest myths about the SAFE mechanism here. SAFE is not KPO. Whereas the conditionality for the SAFE mechanism concerns all EU funds, all of them, from left to right. The European Union protects the interests of European taxpayers against corruption and improper spending,” said Sobkowiak-Czarnecka.
Poland to Receive Significant SAFE Funding
EU countries will receive a total of 150 billion euros in support from the defensive SAFE loan fund. Poland will be the largest beneficiary of the program and will receive nearly 44 billion euros. According to the SAFE assumptions, the support will be provided in the form of 3% loans that Poland is to repay by 2070.