Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed legislation enabling the country to access €44bn from the EU’s €150bn Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, arguing that EU involvement in defence financing could undermine Polish sovereignty.
In a televised address on Thursday (12 March), Nawrocki said “Poland’s security cannot depend on foreign decisions,” Nawrocki said in a televised address, adding that he could not approve a decision that “attacks our sovereignty, independence, economic and military security”.
Nawrocki described SAFE as “a massive foreign loan taken out for 45 years in a foreign currency, with interest costs that could reach up to 180bn zlotys” ($48bn).
Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency cabinet meeting and said his government would seek alternative mechanisms to deploy the funding despite the veto.
“The president lost his chance to act like a patriot,” Tusk said. The premier said the veto “won’t stop the government” from channelling SAFE money into an existing Polish army fund.
Tusk called the veto a “serious impediment” and suggested that it played into Moscow’s hands. “Everywhere in Europe, they’re wondering what happened and how it’s possible. Only Russian newspapers show full understanding of the president’s veto. The facts are absolutely devastating to the Polish president’s reputation. There’s nothing to celebrate,” Tusk added.
Key developments:
• The government planned to allocate 80% of funding to domestic military manufacturing, including a €3.5bn anti-drone defence system.
• More than half of the EU’s €150bn SAFE defence loan programme is delayed, with only eight countries — including Spain and Denmark — approved so far, while Germany and other highly rated economies opted out to allow higher-borrowing states greater access.
• The European Commission has yet to approve €16bn each for Hungary and France and €2bn for the Czech Republic; Brussels says Hungary’s application is under review, while officials in Budapest claim the delay is politically motivated ahead of elections involving Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The dispute highlights a broader political rift between Tusk’s pro-EU government and the Eurosceptic opposition aligned with Nawrocki.
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