Overview
- President Karol Nawrocki blocked legislation enabling spending from the EU’s SAFE program, arguing it would lock Poland into decades of foreign‑currency debt and expose it to Brussels’ conditionality.
- Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned the move and said his cabinet would outline a response at an extraordinary Friday session as he pursues a Plan B to access the funds.
- Poland’s allocation totals about €43.7–44 billion, nearly a third of the €150 billion SAFE pot that offers long‑term, low‑interest loans with a 10‑year grace period.
- Nawrocki and central bank chief Adam Glapiński pitched a domestic ‘SAFE 0%’ plan using unrealized gains on gold reserves, which the government and critics called unrealistic given the bank’s losses.
- Tusk’s coalition likely lacks the votes to override the veto, leaving the money legally available but unusable for now, while the U.S. has criticized SAFE for limiting access for American defense firms.