Donald Tusk recently argued that “over 80 percent of the funds from the SAFE program will be spent in the Polish defense industry”. Meanwhile, the government’s plenipotentiary for the SAFE program, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, revealed that under the program’s rules, a company will be considered “Polish” if it produces in Poland and employs workers there. “It does not have to be a company with one hundred percent Polish capital,” she stated.
The SAFE Loan Facility
The EU SAFE mechanism, introduced in 2025 under the “Readiness 2030” initiative, is a loan fund worth a total of €150 billion, aimed at increasing the European Union’s defense potential. So far, no detailed rules have been specified regarding interest rates or repayment schedules.
To obtain financing, applicants must meet the so-called European Content requirement – at least 65 percent of components must originate from EU member states. The solution is intended to strengthen the Community’s strategic autonomy, but in practice it limits access for entities from outside the EU, including those from South Korea or the United States.
The SAFE instrument operates under EU law and is subject to the conditionality mechanism. Donald Tusk recently maintained that “over 80 percent of the funds from the SAFE program will be spent in the Polish defense industry”.
Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka was asked on Radio Zet about concerns regarding which entities will be eligible for funding and whether the announced support for the “Polish defense industry” means exclusively companies with Polish capital.
“From the very start, the SAFE mechanism requires European capital. Let’s begin with that. So first and foremost, it has to be a European company. What we add is that we say how much we want to spend in the Polish defense industry. For us – and this is what Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak said – if a company produces in Poland, pays taxes in Poland, and employs Poles, we qualify it as Polish,” she declared.
Asked whether this means such companies will not be required to have Polish capital, she replied: “No – what matters is that it contributes to our economy.”
“And they must meet the SAFE mechanism’s requirements, meaning that the management system is in European hands and that the intellectual property rights to the products are also European. Because there are a number of conditions here. […] It does not have to be a company with one hundred percent Polish capital,” she said.