“Will the money stay in the country or will it end up feeding the arms corporations of Germany, France, and other countries? (Germany is not taking these funds, but it is counting on them being spent in its arms companies!)” warns Law and Justice MEP Michał Dworczyk, commenting on reports about a record loan granted to Poland.
On Tuesday, the European Commission awarded Poland the largest share of the €150 billion SAFE defense loan pool. With an amount of €43.7 billion, Poland will be the biggest beneficiary of the program. Next in line, with just over €16 billion each, are Romania, France, and Hungary.
“These are low-interest loans spread over 45 years,” added Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
A series of questions and doubts were set out in an extensive post on X by Law and Justice MEP Michał Dworczyk. “Unfortunately, as citizens we have never been told the details of what exactly these enormous funds will be allocated to,” he begins.
He appeals to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz for detailed information and for the Sejm Defense Committee to be involved in evaluating the projects.
“Will the money remain in the country or will it flow to the arms corporations of Germany, France, and other countries? (Germany is not taking these funds, but it is counting on them being spent in its arms corporations!),” Dworczyk asks.
The politician also cautions that “for some reason, several countries did not take advantage of the co-financing, including those whose governments primarily seek benefits for their own defense industries.”
“I fear that we will receive here another hard lesson in ‘realpolitik,’” he continues.
“In the end, while we may rejoice at these new ‘cheap’ funds, let us remember that within a few years we will not escape a discussion about permanent financing of defense, because one cannot borrow indefinitely. Regardless of which government will have to resolve this difficult dilemma, it would be good, to begin with, to find out exactly what and how we will use these PLN 180 billion for,” he concludes.