“When it comes to the presidential bill itself, I must admit that I hold a grudge against Sejm Speaker Czarzasty for not allowing the Sejm to consider this bill under an extraordinary procedure. The security of Poles is not a moment when solutions can be blocked or postponed for political reasons,” assessed Marek Krawczyk, Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage, speaking on Republika TV.
On Thursday, President Karol Nawrocki announced his decision to veto the law concerning the EU SAFE defense loan. The entire government camp reacted to the president’s veto. Donald Tusk convened an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers, during which the government effectively adopted a resolution regarding SAFE. The Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański and the Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz were authorized to sign the relevant agreements.
Both the president’s circle and the opposition warn that implementing the SAFE program through a resolution of the Council of Ministers would not be lawful. There are many indications that Donald Tusk’s cabinet does not intend to stop.
At the same time, a few days ago a presidential bill concerning the Polish SEJF 0% program was submitted to the Sejm. The Speaker of the chamber, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, announced that it would not be processed by parliament.
“We will not proceed with the bill submitted by the president until the process related to the law that was sent to the president is completed. Why? Because the president must take responsibility for his decisions,” Czarzasty said before the most recent three-day sitting of the Sejm.
“I hold a grudge against Czarzasty”
It turns out that some members of the governing camp disagree with the Speaker’s decision. Marek Krawczyk, Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage, appeared today on the program Wysokie Napięcie on Republika TV. In a conversation with Miłosz Kłeczek, he admitted that although he is not fully convinced by the president’s proposal for the Polish SEJF 0% program, he nevertheless “holds a grudge against Czarzasty.”
“When there is a fire burning beyond our eastern border, this is not the time for hesitation. This is the moment to reach for every possible form of support. Funds under the SAFE program would be exactly such support for the Polish Armed Forces. We can discuss the terms — whether they are better or worse. But right now there is a fire; we need a fire extinguisher, we have to put it out. The proposal by President Nawrocki today is not very specific, and we do not know when it could be implemented,” he said at the beginning.
He later added:
“When it comes to the presidential bill itself, I must admit that I hold a grudge against Sejm Speaker Czarzasty for not allowing the Sejm to consider it under an extraordinary procedure. The security of Poles is not a moment when solutions can be blocked or postponed for political reasons. I would like the presidential bill to reach the Sejm so that MPs can discuss it. In my opinion it contains many ambiguities, but the Sejm is the place where such matters should be debated. It was a mistake that Sejm Speaker Czarzasty did not refer the bill for parliamentary proceedings.”
When asked whether the presidential proposal would have been processed if Szymon Hołownia were currently the Speaker of the Sejm, Krawczyk replied:
“I must admit that I have read the draft. I have many reservations and doubts about it. However, the Sejm is the place where it could be discussed and where appropriate decisions could be made. Freezing it — or what Sejm Speaker Czarzasty calls a ‘speaker’s veto’ — is not a good solution here. The situation is dramatically urgent. We need a solution. We need SAFE, and we need other possibilities if we are able to create them. The needs of the Armed Forces are what they are. We must arm ourselves dramatically quickly.”