The government has shown how it intends to divide more than PLN 147 billion obtained under the SAFE programme “for the development of Polish defence capabilities.” The publication of the details, however, has not ended the political dispute surrounding the EU loan. Former Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak argues that the information presented is incomplete and raises further doubts about contracts concluded at express pace and about the future costs of a liability that taxpayers will be repaying for years.
SAFE, a long-term EU loan, continues to stir controversy. President Karol Nawrocki did not agree to Poland taking on such a financial obligation and vetoed the bill. Despite this, Donald Tusk’s government developed a “plan B” and adopted a resolution. The haste was necessary because the deadline for signing the first domestic contracts financed under the programme was due to expire at the end of May. This was criticised day after day by the opposition, led by Mariusz Błaszczak, the former head of the Ministry of National Defence.
Moreover, according to findings by the Niezależna.pl portal, negotiations concerning agreements under the domestic part of SAFE took place in an atmosphere of scandal. The army and the government are forcing arms companies to sign extremely unfavourable annexes that turn the financing system upside down. Representatives of these companies openly spoke of the risk of facing allegations of acting to the detriment of their own firms.
Although the agreement was signed by ministers from Donald Tusk’s government, the final costs of the gigantic loan, as well as the interest rate that will have to be repaid, are still unknown.
Błaszczak: Instead of answers, we got more questions
The Prime Minister’s Office today posted a statement on X concerning the distribution of funds under SAFE. It said that the government would allocate more than PLN 147 billion to the “development of defence capabilities. This is a comprehensive response to contemporary threats and an investment in the security of future generations.”
The largest share of the budget, PLN 47.6 billion, or 28 percent, is to be allocated to artillery systems. Air and missile defence, as well as unmanned and anti-drone systems, are to receive PLN 44.2 billion, or 26 percent.
A further PLN 32.3 billion, or 19 percent, is to support the development of ground combat capabilities and support systems. Meanwhile, PLN 23.8 billion, representing 14 percent of the total pool of funds, has been earmarked for ammunition and missiles.
The former minister of national defence commented on the matter.
“After several days of political propaganda, the Ministry of National Defence has finally published a list of agreements and annexes concluded under the SAFE programme. The problem is that instead of answers, we have received even more questions. The information presented is scant, incomplete and, in some places, mutually contradictory. It is not even clear whether some of the documents are actually new contracts or merely annexes to previous agreements. There are also discrepancies concerning the dates on which individual agreements were concluded,”
Mariusz Błaszczak wrote.
He added that “we are talking about a multi-billion loan that Poles will be repaying for decades to come. In such a situation, society deserves full transparency, not more success-story press conferences. The published statement does not dispel any of our doubts regarding the signing of dozens of agreements at express pace merely because the SAFE timetable requires it. On the contrary, it raises questions about the quality of negotiations, prices, delivery deadlines and whether all the announcements are realistic, or whether some of them currently exist only on paper.”
The Law and Justice politician pointed out that “the example of the contract for 155 mm ammunition is particularly telling. The Ministry of National Defence refers here to the National Ammunition Reserve adopted by the Law and Justice government in March 2023, a project that those currently in power criticised for years.”
“If the assumptions of that programme are now being implemented, it is increasingly difficult to resist the impression that the act on supporting ammunition production, taken over by the current majority, was primarily yet another propaganda exercise. Poles deserve facts, not political marketing worth billions of euros,”
he stressed.