The government of Donald Tusk failed to spend as much as PLN 33 billion allocated for defense in 2024-2025. “Failing to spend this money in the current situation constitutes a dereliction of duty. Apart from exposing oneself to criminal and political liability, it is another indication that we are dealing with people consciously acting against the interests of the Polish state,” said Jarosław Olechowski on the program “Rewolwer”.
President Karol Nawrocki decided to veto the law implementing the EU defense loan program SAFE. The justification for the decision pointed, among other things, to the risk of violating state sovereignty and transferring some security-related competences to European Union institutions. SAFE is an EU loan program for European defense, from which Poland was expected to borrow approximately €44 billion.
“You Could Create Two F-35 Squadrons”
After the veto by President Karol Nawrocki regarding the EU SAFE loan, the ruling camp unleashed a massive wave of criticism and attacks on the head of state.
Jarosław Olechowski, head of editors at TV Republika, pointed out on social media that the government of Donald Tusk failed to spend as much as PLN 33 billion allocated for the Polish Armed Forces in the budget for 2024 and 2025.
“They simply could not invest this money in the security of Poles. Tusk is simply an incompetent politician. That is why Polish soldiers lack proper equipment, such as bulletproof vests. (…) PLN 33 billion equals 20 percent of the toxic SAFE loan that Tusk now wants to burden Poles with. Do not let yourselves be deceived. Tusk is not interested in any security. There is already a great deal of money in the Polish budget for arms purchases – so much that these bunglers from the Civic Platform (PO) government are incapable of spending it,” Olechowski wrote on social media.
According to Olechowski’s findings, PLN 21.4 billion intended for defense was not spent in 2024, while PLN 11.6 billion remained unused in 2025.
In 2020 Poland purchased 32 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft, American fifth-generation fighter jets, for just under USD 5 billion, which translates to about PLN 18 billion.
“If Tusk were not incompetent, if he were not a traitor to Poland, he would have bought two additional F-35 squadrons with that money and we would have the most powerful air force in the European Union,” Olechowski said on the program “Rewolwer”, illustrating the scale of unspent defense funds.
Michał Rachoń, program director of TV Republika, argued that these were “not incompetents, but people who consistently dismantle key institutions fundamental to the state’s security every time they gain influence over state affairs.”
“Failing to spend this money in the current situation constitutes a dereliction of duty. Apart from exposing oneself to criminal and political liability, it is another indication that we are dealing with people consciously acting against the interests of the Polish state. This entire absurd narrative that, despite having our own resources, we must necessarily go into debt with institutions that can then squeeze us…” he added.
Ten German Banks Help Issue EU Debt
Jarosław Olechowski also pointed to the EU Primary Dealer Network, a group of 37 financial institutions cooperating with the European Commission in issuing debt. These institutions are responsible, among other things, for purchasing bonds and ensuring market liquidity.
“On the list (…) there are 10 German banks [including Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, DZ Bank], the largest number among all qualified entities. There are also seven French banks. There are no Polish banks there,” emphasized the head of editors at TV Republika.
“The European Commission issues bonds for these billions – €44 billion in Poland’s case under the SAFE mechanism. These banks buy them, and then we repay the banks from this list with interest. Economists have calculated that this will amount to PLN 180 billion,” Olechowski added.
SAFE: A Shift in Europe’s Order
Katarzyna Gójska noted later in the program “Rewolwer” that the SAFE program is a political mechanism in many dimensions.
“Within the EU itself, it means the European Commission absorbing further competences and binding member states through defense policy. (…) Various areas of state functioning will be removed from the veto system. A member state will no longer have the right of veto, and that is the last safety valve,” she said.
“The second extremely important aspect (…) concerns breaking transatlantic relations. It is as clear as if Ms. Ursula von der Leyen had written it on her forehead with charcoal. (…) From the statements of generals it is clear that what is crucial for the Polish army cannot be built without purchases from the United States,” she added.
Jarosław Olechowski argued that the arms industry in Europe “is a fantasy.” “For the last 30 years Europe has been destroying its industry and focusing on ideology. We do not have an arms industry – the Germans and the French want to rebuild it using Polish money and profit from the financial servicing of the SAFE program,” he said.
“The aim of this undertaking is to create a new order on our continent and reject the United States. Whether one German bank earns more or less is irrelevant. The long-term objective outlined on the horizon will bring much greater profits than this one-time gain. It is an attempt to completely change the architecture – to push the United States out, cut Europe off from the United States, and turn Europe into something resembling a single state dominated by Germany. Then Berlin will play this situation however it wishes,” Gójska concluded.
Michał Rachoń added: “In a mechanism where Germany has its own man and can issue instructions, it can carry out, through more or less complicated political operations, even something like saying: ‘Bring the Leopards back to us within the framework of a European army.’ And there will be no problem. Because if, at the political level, you are able to force the leader of another state to act in the interest of your own state – and Germany today has such possibilities in Poland (…) if you have such tools, everything else ceases to matter. You have installed in key positions in the neighboring state people who carry out your interests. Until we, as citizens, change this situation, we are finished.”