SAFE programme is success of Poland's EU presidency, says defence minister
The Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme is a major achievement of Poland's EU Presidency, which rapidly adopted the EUR 150 billion initiative aimed at boosting the EU's defence production, the Polish defence minister has said.
Negotiated in a record time of around two months, SAFE provides a total of EUR 150 billion in low-interest loans for the purchase of military equipment, much of it to be manufactured in Europe. The programme is intended to help EU member states strengthen their defence capabilities while reducing dependence on US-made weapons. Poland, which has applied for EUR 43.7 billion in funding, is its largest beneficiary.
Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told a press conference on Wednesday devoted to the implementation of SAFE that the "groundbreaking" programme was initiated by Poland. He added that it was launched under Poland's EU presidency, which "clearly stated that defence and security come first."
He also remarked that the programme "is not just for the military." It also supports the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, the Border Guard and the police. It includes infrastructure, cross-border connections, and military mobility, which cannot function without roads and railways," Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters.
The minister also criticised what he described as attempts in the public sphere to "demean" the SAFE programme, warning that such actions could result in "serious political consequences" for those who perpetrate it.
"The facts and evidence are on our side, on the side of those who conceived the SAFE programme, negotiated the [EUR] 44 billion, and will implement it within the Polish arms industry," Kosiniak-Kamysz argued.
He further said that the SAFE programme "does not block budget expenditures or other funds for procurement that are already underway or planned in the future, as these are part of the armed forces' modernisation programme."
Later, ahead of the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the topics set to be discussed at a session of the National Security Council (RBN), also scheduled for Wednesday, including the implementation of the SAFE programme.
He said that SAFE loans offer extremely favourable conditions, adding that "this guarantees rapid and massive spending on Polish defence," with 80 percent of the funds earmarked for Polish arms producers.
He also criticised the previous government under Law and Justice (PiS), now in opposition, for allocating only 24 percent of defence spending to the Polish arms industry during its time in office. In less than two years, he said, his government had increased that figure to 35 percent.
Tusk further argued that the fact that a large part of the funding from SAFE will benefit the domestic defence industry "triggered a fierce attack by PiS and the Presidential Palace," which he accused of lobbying for the interests of "friendly, but still foreign, countries." He added that the programme had become the subject of an "unnecessary, unwise and harmful political confrontation" between the government, the opposition and President Karol Nawrocki.
"I have no doubts whatsoever, and it's clear from the messages coming from both the opposition and the Presidential Palace that our opponents would like to overturn this project," he told reporters.
Tusk went on to say he believes that such activity amounted to "not just stupidity or bad will, but internal political infighting."
"This is an attempt to destabilise all of Europe... to limit Poland's role in the European Union. Somewhere in the background, at the end [there is] a real risk, and here I am talking about facts, not my speculation, of Poland leaving the European Union," he warned.
He described SAFE as an "essential and key" element of state strategy. The remarks of "those who have been shamelessly lobbying for the interests of foreign arms industries for many months, if not years," were "absolutely unacceptable," he said.
He further announced that he and his ministers would present "indisputable facts regarding the SAFE programme" during the RBN meeting.
"I hope these facts will somehow embarrass our opponents and perhaps lead them to reflect on what they are actually protesting against," Tusk concluded. (PAP)
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