President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed two flagship government bills, condemning a proposed student rights watchdog as a “school prosecution service” and rejecting EU green shipping rules he claims will cripple Polish ports. In a sweeping address, he accused the government of legislative chaos and failing to honour its election pledges nearly three years into its term.
A presidential veto on two fronts
Poland’s President, Karol Nawrocki, announced on Thursday that he had vetoed two government-backed bills, labelling them “ideological.” The rejected legislation would have established an ombudsman for school pupils’ rights and implemented the European Union’s FuelEU Maritime regulations, which the president argues enforce the European Green Deal.
In a recorded statement, Nawrocki detailed his decisions on the latest raft of laws passed by parliament, stressing that each had been scrutinised with experts and advisers, with a clear focus on their impact on citizens. “There are laws worth supporting because they serve the people and bring order to important areas of public life,” he said. “However, there are also those that cause more harm than good.”
Alongside the vetoes, the president signed five bills into law, covering areas from student entrepreneurship to metropolitan governance.
The bills given the green light
Among the legislation approved is a new framework for student cooperatives. Nawrocki argued that the rules would allow young people to gain practical experience in entrepreneurship, teamwork and financial management. “Any initiative that offers young people opportunities to develop can count on my support,” he stated.
The president also signed a metropolitan law for Pomerania, establishing a metropolitan union in the Pomorskie Voivodeship encompassing 61 local governments and a population of roughly 1.6 million. He noted that consultations with local authorities and amendments from his office had ensured at least 40 per cent of funds earmarked for the metropolis’s own tasks would flow to smaller municipalities, with a minimum of 5 per cent of the budget directed towards research and university collaboration.
The raft of signed laws also includes a measure strengthening citizens’ rights in criminal proceedings, a European Arrest Warrant bill streamlining EU cooperation, and a law simplifying regulations in the energy sector. On the latter, Nawrocki conceded it would make electricity bills more transparent and support the modernisation of heating and renewable energy development. However, he issued a sharp warning that it was the last time he would agree to extend the mechanism for strategic gas reserves, demanding proper investment from the government.
A warning on energy prices and legislative chaos
The president reminded the government that his own bill to “genuinely” lower energy prices remains stalled in the Sejm. “My bill… assumes a permanent reduction in electricity bills for individual consumers – electricity minus 33 per cent,” he said.
Turning to a separate excise duty law, Nawrocki revealed he was sending it for preventive review by the Constitutional Tribunal. He accused the government of repeatedly changing laws on the same issue, leaving businesses a mere two weeks to adapt. He highlighted that the finance ministry had published a further draft amendment just days before parliament passed the bill sent to his desk, a situation he branded “nothing short of legislative chaos.”
“School prosecution service” and green shipping targeted
Justifying his first veto, on the student rights ombudsman, Nawrocki acknowledged that protecting pupils is an important goal but insisted the proposed solutions would not improve the school environment. He argued the law would swell bureaucracy and ideologise the education system, creating what he described as a “school prosecution service for tracking down anonymous denunciations.”
“Poland today needs stability, good teaching standards, and the building of teacher authority,” he said, “not solutions that can turn any educational decision into a subject of a formal dispute.”
The second veto struck down the FuelEU Maritime law on sea transport. The president argued its implementation would mean a practical enactment of the Green Deal, which he has opposed since the start of his term. He warned the rules would increase business costs through additional fees, administrative burdens and high financial penalties, weakening the competitiveness of Polish and European ports.
“I say clearly: the Green Deal must be stopped. I want the Polish people to have their say on this. That is why I have applied for a referendum,” he announced, confirming he would revive the initiative to call a public vote on the matter.
Unfulfilled promises and a final reckoning
Summarising his legislative record, Nawrocki noted he had signed 236 bills and vetoed 39. He remarked that he was still waiting for “the fundamental laws promised to citizens during the election campaign.”
“Time is passing inexorably. They were supposed to be implemented within the first 100 days; meanwhile, 932 days have passed – that is two years, six months and 20 days since this government was sworn in, and there is still nothing concrete,” he said.
He also sharply criticised the ruling camp for blocking his own presidential bills, which he said covered, among other things, lower energy prices and support for families, the elderly, farmers and entrepreneurs. Of the 22 bills he has proposed, only one has been passed. Concluding his address, the president argued that in a democracy, a promise to citizens should not be treated as “campaign trinkets” to buy off voters and then be forgotten. “Every government must remember this,” he added, “because every government – sooner or later – will be judged for it.”
