Presidential adviser and former Vice-President of the European Parliament Jacek Saryusz-Wolski warned that the EU’s SAFE program could lead to far-reaching control of member states’ defense policies by EU institutions. In his view, the mechanism could, in practice, limit the sovereignty of states in the area of military equipment procurement.
A Polish army dependent on EU decisions?
Following the announcement that the European Union intends to use the SAFE program to carry out large-scale arms purchases, more critical voices regarding this solution have emerged. The matter was addressed by presidential adviser and former Vice-President of the European Parliament Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, who pointed to questions concerning the compatibility of this mechanism with EU treaties.
Saryusz-Wolski recalled that under the treaties, the European Union was not supposed to possess competencies in the field of defense and security:
“According to the treaties, the EU was not supposed to have ANY COMPETENCES in the field of DEFENSE and SECURITY,”
he indicated.
As he emphasized, in order to bypass this obstacle, EU institutions rely on the argument of strengthening the European defense technological and industrial base.
The former deputy head of the European Parliament also pointed out that EU competencies are limited in the area of industrial policy as well:
“However, even in industrial policy, EU actions may only have a supporting and coordinating character, not a dominant one,”
he noted, referring to Article 173 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
According to this provision, the Union is to support the competitiveness of industry by coordinating the actions of member states, assisting industry in adapting to structural changes, and creating favorable conditions for business development, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
According to Saryusz-Wolski, the problem is that the SAFE instrument could lead to much greater interference by EU institutions:
“The SAFE instrument will allow the European Commission to exercise far-reaching CONTROL over the DEFENSE POLICY of states through CONTROL over equipment procurement,”
he stated.
He added that this is particularly significant in the case of Poland, which has been implementing an ambitious program to modernize its armed forces for several years.
The presidential adviser recalled that Poland’s contracts with South Korea and the United States, as well as the announcement of building the strongest army in Europe, had attracted significant attention across Europe:
“Our contracts with South Korea and the United States, as well as the announcement of creating the strongest army in Europe, aroused great concern and respect,”
he emphasized.
According to him, under the new system, such an army could become dependent on decisions made by EU institutions:
“Now this ‘strongest army’ will largely depend on equipment purchases that will have to be approved by the EU Council and the European Commission,”
he warned.
Saryusz-Wolski also drew attention to the issue of financing the SAFE program. In his assessment, the mechanism could mean the permanent introduction of debt issuance by the European Commission.