The row over SAFE is escalating. Sikorski: Exorcisms are needed here. Something happened to the president
A sharp dispute over EU billions for armaments. Deputy Prime Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that in view of Jarosław Kaczyński's words about “Poland under German rule”, “exorcisms” are needed. While the president of PiS calls on President Karol Nawrocki to veto the bill implementing the SAFE program, Finance Minister Andrzej Domański calculates that thanks to European loans, Poland will save up to PLN 60 billion in interest.
The president of PiS was asked on Monday why almost the entire Law and Justice club voted on Friday in the Sejm against the bill introducing the EU SAFE armament program. According to Kaczyński, the SAFE program has “powerful political aspects.” – It is part of the goal that Germany, in particular, sets itself today. Europe united under German leadership with all its consequences – noted the president of PiS. He also stated that the German plan was already “clearly and directly” formulated by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He also said that Germany, as a post-Nazi state, should “sit in a corner and apologize for being alive, and not try to lead.”
The PiS president emphasized that “Polish independence simply has no price.” – And that is why, even if we had to pay a little more, it is incomparably more profitable for Poland, for the future and for the personal well-being of Poles and Polish families, than what is proposed to us. Because we are offered Poland under German rule. We reject this German shoe, Kaczyński said. PWhen asked whether Karol Nawrocki should veto the bill implementing the SAFE program, Kaczyński replied that in his opinion the president should do it. – But of course this is the president's decision, not mine – he added.
The main advantage of SAFE: The cost of money is lower than the market price. Poland will save on interest
The main advantage of the EU SAFE program is its favorable financial conditions; over the period of validity, loans from the savings program for Poland may amount to at least PLN 48 billion – Citi economists estimate in the report.
SIkorski: Exorcism is needed here
– Arguments are no longer enough here, exorcisms are needed. Something really happened to the president. I would like to remind you that Germany is our ally. Both in the North Atlantic Alliance and as a member of our European family. (The PiS president) is trying to attack our neighbor again, which receives a quarter of our exports – replied the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
According to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, thanks to, among others, credibility of Germany, which has a AAA credit rating, we can take out a “very favorable loan for 40 years with a ten-year grace period”. As he emphasized, this solution is good for Polish finances, army and security.
– Out of ideological fervor – because they can't believe that the EU has done something good for Poland – they are now encouraging the president to veto it. (…) If the president vetoes it, it means that he is against stable finances, Poland's security and better equipment of the Polish Army – he emphasized Sikorski.
When asked about the president's possible veto of the SAFE Act, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized: – The Act is not an act on the adoption of SAFE. It is only an act to create a more transparent institutional vehicle for the adoption of SAFE. So Mr. President, you can veto, SAFE will happen anyway, the Polish Army will get the money anyway.
The Prime Minister on the PiS convention in Stalowa Wola: The peak of insolence
The height of insolence; Only PiS can organize a party convention in Stalowa Wola and at the same time block large amounts of money for the steelworks from the SAFE program – said Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday, referring to the party's convention announced for Saturday.
The vice-president of PiS, former head of the Ministry of National Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak, announced on Monday that another convention regarding the PiS program will be held next Saturday, February 21, in Stalowa Wola. As he said, this time the main topic of the meeting will be defense.
The Prime Minister commented on the matter. “The height of insolence! Organizing a party convention in Stalowa Wola and at the same time blocking huge amounts of money for Huta (Stalowa Wola) from the SAFE program – only PiS can do it,” wrote the head of government on X.
PiS spokesman Rafał Bochenek commented directly on this entry, also using X. “We do not want the money from SAFE to be distributed like KPO for their own people (yachts, sex clubs, etc.), and Poles will be left with a loan for years. We do not want that,” he wrote.
The Prime Minister's entry was also commented on by the Minister Coordinator of Special Services, Tomasz Siemoniak. “The entire Polish defense industry is waiting for the SAFE program,” he emphasized.
Domański on criticism of the SAFE program: Błaszczak has no shame
Domański took part in a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels. On Tuesday, this body will approve the Polish plan for spending loans from the SAFE defense program in the amount of EUR 43.7 billion.
The Minister of Finance referred to Friday's statement by Błaszczak, who stated that SAFE in its current form means giving up sovereignty and blocking the development of the Polish army. The PiS politician called the PO-PSL coalition “the gravedigger of the Polish Army.”
Minister Błaszczak has no shame because, first of all, his purchases were much more modest in scale than the great plan to modernize the Polish army that our government is implementing. Secondly, without revealing all the details here, we know that the loans he took out were not as competitive and as cost-effective as the SAFE program, Domański told journalists in Brussels.
As he noted, there is no more effective and cheaper source of financing for the modernization of the Polish army than the SAFE program. The Minister of Finance repeated that loans taken out under SAFE will have a very low interest rate and are significantly cheaper than the cost of issuing bonds by the state budget or bonds issued by BGK. – The Ministry of Finance estimates that these savings from the SAFE program may reach up to PLN 60 billion – he said.
– This is huge money that actually means savings for Polish taxpayers – Domański commanded. As he said, he was surprised by Błaszczak's criticism, because over 80 percent funds allocated to Poland under SAFE will be spent in Polish companies or in companies that produce in Poland and which often transfer the most advanced technologies to our country.
– It is very difficult to understand how someone who has the modernization of the Polish army at heart can criticize the SAFE program – said Domański.
The Minister of Finance recalled that the program was established during the Polish Presidency and that, during work at the EU forum, Poland made sure that the program allowed purchases to be made by only one country.
– Mr. Błaszczak and other opposition representatives can say what they would not have done if they were in our place, but the facts are that they were unable to provide financing for the modernization of the Polish army. Expenditures on armaments were clearly lower than today. This is because they are generally helpless, he added.
SAFE program: details
SAFE is intended to support EU countries in strengthening their defense potential. It was established in 2025 in the face of a growing threat from Russia and uncertainty around the United States' continued involvement in Europe. It amounts to EUR 150 billion. Including Poland, 19 Member States participate in it.
On Friday, the Sejm adopted the act implementing SAFE. The amendments by PiS, which criticizes the transparency of spending funds from SAFE, were rejected. According to opposition politicians, the EU program may be used in the future as an element of political pressure on Poland, as was the case – in their opinion – in the case of KPO. PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński said on Monday that President Karol Nawrocki should veto the law implementing the EU SAFE program. According to him, the program has “powerful political aspects” and its goal is to unite Europe “under German leadership.”
Magdalena Cedro from Brussels
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