Domański in Brussels: It's hard to imagine. The president's veto against SAFE is a disservice to Poland

Finance Minister Andrzej Domański said on Thursday in Brussels that he could not imagine that President Karol Nawrocki would not support the law implementing the EU SAFE defense loan program in Poland. This would be an act to the detriment of Poland, he said.

Domański argued that there is no cheaper, more effective source of financing for the modernization of the Polish army than the SAFE program.

– These are tens of billions of zlotys in savings for Polish taxpayers. These are new jobs. That's over 80 percent. SAFE program, which will be used in Poland, in the Polish defense industry – mentioned the minister.

– It's hard for me to imagine that the president wouldn't support this program and sign it. This would be, I am absolutely convinced of it, an act to the detriment of Poland, he added.

On Friday, the Sejm will vote on the Senate's amendments to the act implementing the SAFE program. From this moment, the president will have 21 days to make a decision – he can sign the bill or refuse to sign it (so-called legislative veto) and, with a reasoned motion, submit it to the Sejm for reconsideration. The Sejm may reject the president's veto by a 3/5 majority of votes, in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of deputies. The President also has the right, in case of legal doubts, to submit an application to the Constitutional Tribunal.

As the government's plenipotentiary for the SAFE program, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, said on Monday in Brussels, Donald Tusk's cabinet still plans to sign the SAFE loan agreement in the second half of March. If the president does not sign the act, SAFE could be introduced by government regulation, but then the program would enter into force in a limited version. – Of course, the government has a plan B, but we will wait for the president's decision – Domański said on Thursday.

The EU SAFE program provides a total of EUR 150 billion of support in the form of, among others: low-interest loans, primarily for the purchase of military equipment, especially those produced in Europe. Poland, which is the largest beneficiary of the program, applied for funding for 139 projects worth EUR 43.7 billion.

During the annual clearing and task briefing of the management staff of the Ministry of National Defense and the Polish Armed Forces on Wednesday, the President referred to SAFE and the act implementing it. As he pointed out, “the basic principle of building security is certainty.” – So we need to be sure that funds from the SAFE program will not be withheld or suspended – he said. He called for an honest debate in this regard and assessed that it was justified to disclose the list of 139 projects to be implemented under this program.

– Here, Mr. Prime Minister, ministers, dear officers, ladies and gentlemen, what is needed here is a cool assessment, calm, and an honest debate, not the political tumult, of which Poland has unfortunately become a part today. This is a huge debt that will be repaid by the Polish state for decades. Therefore, Poles have the right to know what the real cost of the commitment will be and on what conditions it will be granted, Nawrocki noted.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, assured during the briefing that Poland's sovereignty was not at risk. He reminded that we use EU funds in many areas and so far Poland has never been accused of dishonesty in the use of EU funds. Another argument in favor of adopting the act implementing the SAFE rearmament program – according to Kosiniak-Kamysz – are the amendments adopted by the Senate, including the provision that the loans will not be financed from the Ministry of National Defense budget.

From Brussels Jowita Kiwnik Pargana (PAP)

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