The head of the National Security Bureau attacks Onet. He wants to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disclosure of documents, including: regarding SAFE

The head of the National Security Bureau, Sławomir Cenckiewicz, sent a letter to the Minister Coordinator of Special Services, Tomasz Siemoniak, to check whether, when Onet published fragments of documents, including: regarding SAFE, there was no violation of the provisions on the protection of classified information – the National Security Bureau reported on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Onet portal wrote about the participation of Polska Amunicja in the EU SAFE program, attaching a fragmentary photo of a secret list of program beneficiaries. The material also included a photo of the resolution adopted in 2023 by the then PiS government with the “reserved” clause, under which the National Ammunition Reserve program was established.

On Thursday, the National Security Bureau informed on the X platform that in connection with the publication of classified documents by Onet, the head of the National Security Bureau sent a letter to the minister coordinator of secret services requesting information “what actions were taken by the services subordinate to the coordinator minister in order to check the circumstances of the disclosure of these documents and to verify whether there was a violation of the provisions on the protection of classified information.”

In the debate on SAFE, Polska Amunicja, which – according to Onet – may receive from PLN 4 to 11 billion, became one of the sources of the political dispute. Opposition politicians pointed out that the company is headed by former KO MP Paweł Poncyljusz.

The government argued that Polska Amunicja was on the list of beneficiaries as a result of the decision of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki when the National Ammunition Reserve program was implemented, under which the company was designated to implement investments in the construction of Polish capabilities to produce 155 mm ammunition.

Last week, President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the bill implementing the EU SAFE mechanism. The President submitted his own bill to the Sejm, the so-called Polish SAFE 0 percent In response to the president's veto, the Council of Ministers adopted a resolution on the Armed Poland Program. It authorizes the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Finance and Economy to represent the Polish government and sign on its behalf the agreement and documents regarding the SAFE loan that Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego will take out for the Armed Forces Support Fund. BGK's financial liabilities under the SAFE loan will be covered by a State Treasury guarantee.

Karol Nawrocki and the President of the NBP, Adam Glapiński, presented an alternative to the EU SAFE at the beginning of March. The President of the National Bank of Poland then proposed to revaluate the gold held by the Polish central bank through “active management of reserves”, which could enable very high profits to be obtained. According to Glapiński, the value of unrealized revenues from the increase in the valuation of gold is PLN 197 billion. The NBP could pay this amount as profit within a few years, but the President of the NBP emphasized that the funds should be used exclusively for defense.

The act implementing the EU SAFE armament mechanism assumed the creation of a Financial Instrument for Enhancing Security, managed by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, through which the government could use money from SAFE – the EU instrument for low-interest loans to quickly increase the defense of EU countries. According to the government's declaration, 89 percent these funds would go to Polish arms companies, and in addition to the army, the Police and the Border Guard were also to be supported.

The Polish application submitted to the program amounted to EUR 43.7 billion and was approved by EU institutions. Thus, Poland was indicated as the largest beneficiary of the program. (PAP)

from/ rbk/