Government Plenipotentiary for the program SAFEMagdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, told the Financial Times on Monday that President Karol Nawrocki's veto will not discourage the government from looking for ways to gain access to nearly EUR 44 billion in loans under the EU program.
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Government for SAFE. “The president's decision doesn't change anything”
“The president's decision does not change anything between the Polish government and the (European – ed.) Commission,” said Sobkowiak-Czarnecka. “The only thing that has changed is that we have to find another way to introduce this money into our Polish system.”
The pro-European government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk is currently working on a plan to direct SAFE funds to the existing Polish army fund, which would not require Nawrocki's consent, writes the British daily.
Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said that Warsaw is convinced that this will allow Brussels to make future payments under the SAFE program.
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PAP/Michał Czernek / PAP/photos
Anti-drone system for money from SAFE
Poland is the largest beneficiary of the EUR 150 billion in loans granted to EU member states last year as part of the European military effort in the face of the threat from Russia.
The European Commission announced on Friday that it is ready to disburse EUR 6.5 billion in pre-financing of the SAFE program next month. Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said the money will be used to build a flagship anti-drone system worth EUR 3.5 billion, as well as other military production projects.
See also: President Karol Nawrocki blocks the SAFE Act. “It's national betrayal”
“First transfer in April”. When will the money from SAFE be available?
“Time is of the essence and we are determined to implement the plan without delay. That is why the Commission is signing the loan agreement with the Polish authorities… to pay the initial amount in April” – said the Commission spokesman, quoted by “FT”.
However, Sobkowiak-Czarnecka admitted that there are still some unknowns regarding the extent to which SAFE loans could be used by law enforcement agencies.
Before Nawrocki's veto, Tusk's government planned to allocate part of the SAFE funds to the police and border guards and support infrastructure projects.
“It's hard to find a way right now,” she said. However, she added that EU rules allow governments to modify investment plans.
See also: This is what Poles think about SAFE. Differences among older and younger people
SAFE intensified a long-standing dispute
The dispute over SAFE is the latest in a long-running conflict between Tusk and the right-wing opposition, which nominated Nawrocki before last year's presidential elections. Nawrocki claimed that SAFE would give Brussels a say in matters of Poland's national security, and repayment would be too expensive – even though the interest rate on the loans is lower than on Polish public debt – according to “FT”.
As the daily adds, the conflict over SAFE has also intensified the long-standing dispute with the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) over Poland's role in the EU.
A Polish project with SAFE that “all of Europe is looking for”. What is SAN?
The anti-drone system that Warsaw wants to build with money from the SAFE program is an unprecedented response Moscow's interference in Polish airspace last yearwhen NATO fighters jumped up and opened fire on Russian drones.
A Polish-Norwegian consortium recently received contracts for the construction of an anti-drone system. Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said the system, known as SAN, is already attracting interest from other EU countries and could eventually be exported under their own SAFE funding programs.
“SAN is a response to what happened in September and a project that all of Europe is looking for” — she said. “This system could be used at the border, but also to protect airports and other critical infrastructure.”
Source: Financial Times
