Both the government and the president emphasize the need to develop the Polish Armed Forces. However, the “small” and “big” palace presented different concepts for financing Polish defense. The Prime Minister appeals for the signing of the act implementing the EU SAFE program, the President and the President of the National Bank of Poland propose a “Polish SAFE 0 percent”.
Poland is to be the largest beneficiary of the EU SAFE program – it can obtain approximately EUR 43.7 billion, or almost PLN 200 billion. According to the government's declaration, 89 percent funds from SAFE are to go to Polish arms companies.
The Council of Ministers, headed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, has been arguing for several weeks that the EU SAFE rearmament program serves Polish sovereignty, is highly anticipated by soldiers and is a great chance for stability for the army budget in the coming years.
After the Act was passed by the Sejm and the Senate amendments were adopted at the end of February, stating, among others: that the repayment of the loan will not be financed from the budget of the Ministry of National Defense, the decision lies in the hands of President Karol Nawrocki, who has 21 days to make a decision, until March 20. Nawrocki has repeatedly said that the issue of conditionality raises doubts.
On Wednesday, the president, together with the president of the NBP, Adam Glapiński, presented the “Polish SAFE 0%” proposal. Unlike the EU program, “Polish SAFE” would be financed with the help of the National Bank of Poland. Glapiński said that the alternative to SAFE “will not involve any financial interest” and that the central bank does not plan to finance the proposal from “any part of the NBP reserves” – as transferring them would be contrary to the law – while “the funds that will be created will be transferred as required by law” to the Armed Forces Support Fund.
The president also announced that on Wednesday he would send Tusk and Kosiniak-Kamysz a letter inviting them to a meeting on SAFE 0%.
In response to the proposal of the president and the president of the NBP, the head of the Ministry of National Defense stated on the X platform that the SAFE program provides the fastest and specific funds for the modernization of the Polish army. On Thursday, he added that the program developed by the president and president of the NBP cannot be an alternative to the SAFE program. He emphasized that the adoption of both programs will allow obtaining up to PLN 400 billion for the modernization of the army. He also estimated that the worst-case scenario would be a situation in which the president vetoes the act on Poland's accession to the EU SAFE program, and at the same time the Sejm rejects the president's “Polish SAFE 0 percent” initiative.
Nawrocki, asked on Thursday whether he saw room for combining the two programs, said he was surprised that “there is such nervous waiting” for his decision. – I have a statutory, constitutional time to sign or not sign the law proposed by the parliamentary majority, and no one will put pressure on the President of Poland when I should sign it (or) when I should not sign it – Nawrocki emphasized.
In response, Prime Minister Tusk, in a video posted on He noted that money from the EU program “is on the table” and factories are preparing to produce the weapons that will be contracted.
Addressing Nawrocki and Glapiński, he emphasized that the current political situation in the world “requires the highest seriousness and responsibility.” – There is no question of any political games – said the Prime Minister.
Glapiński stated on the X platform that the NBP's involvement in the proposed “Polish SAFE 0 percent” will be implemented only within the limits of the law and the bank's mandate. He added that NBP reserves, including gold, will not be depleted. However, according to the Minister of Finance and Economy, Andrzej Domański, there is no such thing as “SAFE 0 percent”. He pointed out that for three years the budget had not received a single zloty from the NBP profit. In his opinion, European SAFE is the cheapest and best source of financing for defense investments.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, referring to the president's “SAFE 0%” proposal, noted that it was a proposal to sell or pledge part of Poland's gold reserves and – as he emphasized – in any case, it would be speculation on the price of this precious metal. – European SAFE is safer – he said.
According to the government representative for SAFE, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, the money from the “SAFE 0%” project will be useful for the implementation of projects from the reserve list that did not fit into the main list of projects implemented under SAFE. And the EU Commissioner for the Budget, Piotr Serafin, said on RMF24 radio that both SAFE concepts can be useful, noting that the president's initiative is not a project that should be commented on by the European Commission.
In an interview with PAP, prof. Ph.D. Artur Nowak-Far from SGH assessed that the “SAFE 0%” program would violate the rules of central bank independence. He emphasized that the NBP must transfer profits directly to the budget and cannot decide what purposes these funds are used for.
Santander Bank economist Piotr Bielski stated in a comment on Thursday that the options regarding the central bank's financing of the presidential “SAFE 0%” proposal. they carry a risk of inflation and the credibility of the central bank as a circumvention of the regulations prohibiting the central bank from financing government deficits. ING Bank economists believe that the use of gold reserves in SAFE 0%. would require changing the NBP's accounting rules or selling some of the gold to realize a profit. They added that these solutions are risky in the current conditions and contrary to the announcements of gold accumulation. (PAP)
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