PiS MEP Tobiasz Bocheński criticized Poland’s plan to make use of the EU’s SAFE program during an appearance on TV Republika. In his view, “this is not about armaments” but about a conditionality mechanism. “We are being treated by this government, as a society, like idiots,” the politician said. Bocheński argued that the loan could be used as a tool of political pressure against a future government in Poland.
Czarzasty’s “Freezer”
At a press conference ahead of yesterday’s Sejm session, Włodzimierz Czarzasty announced that the bill submitted by the president concerning the SAFE 0% program would not be processed.
“We will not proceed with the bill submitted by the president until the process related to the bill that was sent to the president is completed. Why? Because the president must take responsibility for his decisions,”
Czarzasty said.
Later, as the Niezalezna.pl portal learned, the Speaker of the Sejm did not allow a discussion of the aforementioned proposal at the Council of Seniors prior to Wednesday’s session.
The matter was commented on during a broadcast on TV Republika by PiS MEP Tobiasz Bocheński, who assessed that Donald Tusk’s government is pushing to adopt this solution at all costs.
“They are forcing through this German-EU ‘SAFE’ at any cost, because it includes conditionality. That is the only thing this is about; it is not about armaments. The entire situation has been turned upside down,”
he said.
“Poles Do Not Know What Orders the Government Wants to Place”
Bocheński also pointed to the lack of detailed information about the planned military procurement.
“Poles do not know what orders the government wants to place. Donald Tusk comes out to a press conference and says that 80 percent of the spending will take place in Poland. Well, that’s just like those ‘specific promises,’ right? They managed them in 100 days, so they will surely spend 80 percent in Poland in the same way,”
the MEP said.
The politician also referred to reports that parliamentarians could review the list of planned orders.
“Members of the Civic Coalition say that parliamentarians can go to room 201, where the password is ‘Grzyb’ (‘Mushroom’), and someone there has the list, and they can review it. This is an absurdity; it is embarrassing,”
he stated.
“A Loan for One’s Entire Professional Life”
Bocheński emphasized the long-term nature of the financial commitment.
“We are talking about a loan that a person who is 25 years old today will be repaying throughout their entire professional life, all the way until retirement. We are simply being treated by this government, as a society, like idiots,”
he said.
According to the MEP, the government fears proposals for alternative ways of financing defense.
“Donald Tusk wants to take this loan at any cost and became so alarmed by the proposal from the President and Professor Glapiński because he saw that there is an alternative and now has a problem with how to continue selling this to the Polish people,”
he said.
“A Mechanism Similar to the One Used with the KPO”
Bocheński argued that funds from the SAFE program could depend on decisions made by EU institutions.
“These are tranches that Brussels will still be the one to pay out to us. We have neither the armaments nor the loan yet, and the interest is already accruing,”
he stated.
In his view, this could lead to a situation similar to the disputes surrounding the National Recovery Plan (KPO).
“And then Tusk comes out with someone like Trzaskowski, Szczerba, or Zembaczyński and says: look, Poles, terrible things are happening, but if you elect them again, the money will come. So it is the same mechanism as with the KPO,”
he said.
Call for a Veto
The PiS MEP argued that a decision on such a financial commitment should require the consent of parliament.
“The EU SAFE program should be scrapped. It should be vetoed because an EU regulation, although it applies directly, stands above Polish law. In this case, it constitutes a financial obligation that cannot be undertaken without the consent of deputies and senators, because that is what the Constitution of the Republic of Poland provides,”
he said.
He added that, in his opinion, a presidential veto could block the adoption of the mechanism.
“That would create a very effective mechanism, the president’s veto, to prevent Tusk from taking away part of our sovereignty,”
said Tobiasz Bocheński.