Poland’s president blocks EU billions for his nation: “Opportunity wasted” | EUROtoday

Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed a regulation that may safe billions from an EU arms program for his nation. “Poland’s security must not depend on foreign decisions,” stated Nawrocki, justifying his transfer. “Only a people who manage to take care of their own security will remain truly free.”

As a part of the Safe program, the EU is offering 150 billion euros in low-cost loans to broaden the protection capabilities of its members. Poland ought to be the most important beneficiary with virtually 44 billion euros. At the top of February, parliament authorised the regulation implementing the EU program with the votes of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s center-left coalition. At the time, Tusk emphasised that greater than 80 p.c of the cash could be invested in orders for Polish protection corporations, and that 12,000 native corporations would profit from it.

But Nawrocki, who was essential of Europe, was skeptical from the beginning. “The president has missed an opportunity to behave like a patriot,” stated Tusk, commenting on the veto on X. He referred to as a unprecedented authorities assembly for Friday morning.

The dispute is indicative of the place in Warsaw since Nawrocki’s election in 2025. Since then, the necessary EU and NATO state has not spoken with one voice on strategic points. The president and head of presidency Tusk, who’re supported by the right-wing conservative opposition celebration PiS, come from hostile political camps.

For weeks, the highly effective PiS chief Jaroslaw Kaczynski has been campaigning towards the Safe program and spreading an anti-German narrative. Accordingly, the EU arms program is a part of a plan to carry the EU nearer collectively underneath German dominance. Kaczynski claimed that German protection corporations ought to primarily profit. “We are being proposed a Poland under the German boot, and we reject this German boot.”

In order to have the ability to reject EU loans however nonetheless spend money on Poland’s rearmament, Nawrocki just lately offered another plan referred to as “Safe 0 percent” along with National Bank boss Adam Glapinski. It stipulates that an armaments program of considerably the identical measurement ought to be financed interest-free from the National Bank’s international trade and gold reserves. Details stay unclear, and monetary specialists warn concerning the dangers.

“This project means a strong army without debt for generations,” Nawrocki stated in his speech. He appealed to all political forces to help this plan. To implement it, nonetheless, it wants the approval of Tusk’s authorities. And he has already made it clear that he is not going to grant this.

The Safe 2025 mortgage program is meant to present EU states extra assets for arms purchases towards a extra aggressive Russia. According to plans by the Ministry of Defense, Poland needs to make use of it to purchase defensive weapons towards drones and missiles, helicopters and boats. Germany doesn’t use EU loans, however depends by itself assets.