“We followed the SAFE debate in the Sejm. Surprising controversies surrounding a program worth €150 billion, from which Poland is to receive the lion’s share – €44 billion,” wrote Germany’s ambassador to Poland, Miguel Berger, yesterday on platform X. The diplomat observed the Polish Sejm’s session and eagerly commented on it on social media. Berger’s conduct drew a response from the Polish right.
A few days ago, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft law on the Security Enhancement Financial Instrument – SAFE, submitted by the Minister of National Defence. The bill is intended to enable Poland to use funds from the EU’s SAFE programme, but in the form of a loan. Poland has applied for a loan of more than €43.7 billion, nearly PLN 200 billion.
The opposition fears that the money will primarily benefit the arms industries in France and Germany, and also criticizes the lack of transparency regarding projects financed under SAFE.
During Thursday’s work in the Sejm on the bill, numerous amendments were submitted by MPs from the Law and Justice (PiS) parliamentary club, but they did not receive a positive recommendation from the relevant parliamentary committees. Support for the bill was expressed by representatives of the coalition groupings – Polish People’s Party (PSL), Polska 2050 Party (Polska 2050) and New Left (Lewica). Opposition was voiced, among others, by politicians from the Confederation (Konfederacja) and the Confederation of the Polish Crown (KKP), as well as by Jarosław Sachajko and Marek Jakubiak, who argued that SAFE poses a threat to Poland’s sovereign security architecture and represents an enormous debt to be incurred by the Polish state.
On the same day, presidential spokesperson Rafał Leśkiewicz announced that the Head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Zbigniew Bogucki, and the Head of the National Security Bureau, Sławomir Cenckiewicz, had begun work on amendments to the bill. These are to concern, among other things, the conditions for granting and repaying the SAFE loan. On Wednesday, the SAFE programme was one of three topics discussed at a meeting of the National Security Council convened by President Karol Nawrocki.
The Sejm passes the bill
Today, the Sejm passed the law implementing the SAFE programme. A total of 439 MPs took part in the vote. 236 voted “in favour”, 199 voted “against”, and 4 “abstained”. The bill will now go to President Karol Nawrocki, who has 21 days to make a decision.
At the same time, the Sejm rejected all amendments submitted by Law and Justice (PiS) in the Senate.
What was the German ambassador doing in the Sejm?
Yesterday’s Sejm proceedings, particularly two debates – on SAFE and on the bill concerning the status of “next of kin” – were observed by the German ambassador, Miguel Berger. He commented on them in real time.
“I followed the SAFE debate in the Sejm. Surprising controversies surrounding a programme worth €150 billion, from which Poland is to receive the lion’s share – €44 billion. SAFE aims to strengthen European defence capabilities. Given the threat from Russia, there is no time to lose,” Berger wrote on platform X. He did not, however, mention that the billions in question constitute a loan, not a grant.
That was not all. He devoted a second post to the bill on the status of “next of kin”.
“Dignity and security, legal certainty for citizens in same-sex relationships. In the Sejm with other diplomats to show support for Katarzyna Kotula and the draft law on the ‘status of next of kin’.”
The Polish right reacts
The German ambassador’s “engagement” drew reactions from opposition politicians.
“Symbolic! The German Ambassador is overseeing in the Polish parliament how the legislative process of the law implementing the German muzzle called SAFE proceeds… Mr Ambassador, if the SAFE programme is so wonderful, why has your country not decided to make use of it?” commented Law and Justice (PiS) spokesperson Rafał Bochenek.
Dariusz Matecki, an MP from Law and Justice (PiS), assessed: “The German ambassador in the Sejm is supervising the SAFE programme – meaning enormous funds for German industry, cutting off the possibility of purchasing arms in the United States. This programme is TREASON! Handing Polish security over into German hands!”
“The German ambassador – like his colleagues from Civic Platform (KO) – speaks of ‘receiving’ funds from SAFE. In reality, this is a multi-billion-euro loan, on unknown terms, and it is not any additional money. One thing is certain – it will be subject to conditionality. The threat from Russia is real, but it was Germany’s policy, and that of compliant politicians such as Donald Tusk, that for years enabled Putin’s imperial policy. The transfer of billions of euros to the Kremlin will remain their disgrace,” indicated Andrzej Śliwka from Law and Justice (PiS).
Ambasador Niemiec 🇩🇪 – podobnie jak jego koledzy z KO – mówi o „otrzymaniu” środków z SAFE. Tymczasem chodzi o wielomiliardową pożyczkę, nie wiadomo na jakich warunkach, i nie są to żadne dodatkowe pieniądze. Jedno jest pewne, będą one objęte warunkowością.
— Andrzej Śliwka 🇵🇱 (@SliwkaAndrzej) February 13, 2026
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