“The Polish Armed Forces need funding on the scale offered by the SAFE loan. However, concerns arise regarding the sovereignty aspect, which is particularly important to me as President of the Republic of Poland,” said President of Poland Karol Nawrocki. The head of state also stressed that “Poles have the right to know the true cost of the obligation being undertaken and the conditions under which it will be granted.”
SAFE Loan. President: “Poles Have the Right to Know…”
During the annual briefing of military commanders at the Warsaw Citadel, President Karol Nawrocki addressed the risks associated with the EU’s SAFE loan.
“The Polish Armed Forces require funding as substantial as that provided by the SAFE loan. However, doubts remain regarding the sovereignty dimension, which is especially significant to me in my capacity as President of the Republic of Poland. To what extent does the SAFE program allow us to spend these funds freely in light of the conditionality principle?”
the President asked.
In his view, “we must be certain that these funds will not be withheld or suspended. Certainty means security; uncertainty means danger.” He also recalled the serious risks stemming from the application of so-called conditionality.
“We all remember that in the case of the National Recovery Plan (KPO), this principle became a source of major conflicts and tensions between the EU and Poland. The same principle applies to SAFE. This follows from the EU’s implementing documents, including its regulation of May 2025. We are not in a position to eliminate this risk through any preamble or other act of collective declaration by the Sejm or the Senate,”
the President emphasized.
The head of state stated that “what is needed here is a sober assessment, calm reflection, and an honest debate, not political turmoil, which Poland has unfortunately become part of. This represents an enormous debt that will be repaid by the Polish state for decades. Therefore, Poles have the right to know the true cost of the obligation being undertaken and the terms on which it will be granted.”
“Questions have also arisen regarding oversight and transparency of expenditures. In this context, it remains justified to disclose the list of 139 projects planned for implementation under SAFE. Expert concerns regarding the deadline for spending the funds by 2030 also appear warranted. This naturally raises questions about the real capacity to expand production lines in the Polish defense industry within such a short timeframe using these loans,”
he stated.
The President also noted that it may ultimately turn out that “Polish defense companies will primarily act as intermediaries in purchasing armaments from our partners, or that the beneficiaries will be Polish subsidiaries of foreign defense companies.”
“These are questions that we, I as President of Poland, and the Polish people, have the right to ask, and to which we still expect answers,”
he concluded.