A deepening political dispute has emerged in Poland after President Karol Nawrocki announced he would veto legislation outlining how the country should use its €43.7 billion share of a European defence financing programme, Politico reported.
The measure relates to the European Union’s Security Action for Europe initiative, commonly known as SAFE, which offers member states access to long-term, low-interest loans to strengthen military capabilities. However, Nawrocki declared on Thursday evening that he would not approve the law required for Poland to implement the scheme domestically.
The decision creates a major obstacle for the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. His administration lacks sufficient support in parliament to overturn the presidential veto, making the confrontation another chapter in an increasingly bitter rivalry between the two leaders over the country’s political direction.
Nawrocki’s position reflects the scepticism toward Brussels shared by the nationalist opposition party Law and Justice, which backs the president. This stance contrasts with the more pro-European orientation of Tusk’s governing coalition. Poland has become the only EU member state where the SAFE programme has triggered such a heated domestic political confrontation.
The European initiative itself has attracted strong demand across the bloc. When announcing the programme last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that EU governments had already claimed the entire €150 billion available through SAFE and were pressing for additional funds.
The Polish government reacted sharply to the president’s decision. Shortly after the announcement, Tusk wrote on social media that Nawrocki had squandered an opportunity to act in the national interest.
“The President has lost the chance to act like a patriot. Shame!” he posted on X, adding that ministers would gather the following morning for an emergency meeting to determine their response.
Government figures intensified the criticism in public statements and online commentary, with several describing the veto as “national treason.” The move also contradicts the views of senior military officials, who had supported the EU-backed financing. Earlier this year, Chief of the General Staff Wiesław Kukuła described SAFE as a “game changer” for Poland’s armed forces.
The programme provides loans raised by Brussels on financial markets and offered to member states on favourable terms, including a decade-long grace period before principal repayments begin. For Poland, which plans to allocate roughly 4.8 per cent of its gross domestic product to defence this year, such financing would represent a significant cost advantage compared with borrowing independently.
Before the president formally blocked the measure, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski had warned that he would highlight the consequences of the decision to members of the armed forces.
“If the President vetoes SAFE and we still implement it … I will propose that a plaque with the inscription be placed on every rifle, tank, gun, drone, and anti-drone: ‘Dear soldier of the Polish Army, [President] Nawrocki did not want to give you this.’”
Dispute over debt and sovereignty
In explaining his decision, Nawrocki reiterated concerns he has raised repeatedly about the financial structure of the EU initiative. According to the president, participating in SAFE would effectively tie Poland to decades of foreign borrowing.
“The SAFE mechanism is a massive foreign loan taken out for 45 years in a foreign currency, with interest costs that could reach as much as PLN180 billion [€42 billion]. Poland would therefore have to repay an amount roughly equal to the value of the loan itself in interest, with Western banks and financial institutions standing to profit from it,” he said.
Nawrocki also warned that Brussels could use the scheme to exert political influence over Poland’s defence policy through conditions attached to the financing.
“SAFE is a mechanism under which Brussels, through the so-called conditionality principle, could arbitrarily suspend financing while Poland would still have to continue repaying the debt. That’s why it must be said clearly: Security subject to conditions is not security. Poland’s security cannot depend on decisions taken elsewhere,” he declared.
He concluded by stating unequivocally that he would not sign the legislation. Instead, the president has revived a proposal to finance military spending through domestic resources by leveraging the gold reserves held by the National Bank of Poland. With approximately 550 tonnes stored in vaults at home and abroad, the institution ranks among Europe’s largest holders of gold.
Central bank governor Adam Glapiński recently noted that the bank holds roughly 197 billion złoty in unrealised gains from the rising value of those reserves. He suggested that part of that sum could be channelled into defence investment, potentially through a dedicated structure known as the Polish Defence Investment Fund. According to Glapiński, the resources would come from transactions reducing the proportion of gold in the bank’s portfolio.
Tusk’s government has dismissed the idea as highly speculative and incompatible with the central bank’s responsibility to safeguard financial stability. Officials also argue that the SAFE funding would largely benefit Poland’s domestic defence industry, creating employment and stimulating economic growth.
The dispute comes at a politically sensitive moment as the country approaches parliamentary elections scheduled for 2027. Polling indicates that Tusk’s liberal Civic Coalition could emerge as the largest party but might struggle to secure a governing majority. Meanwhile, the Law and Justice party hopes to return to power, potentially with support from the Confederation alliance and the more radical Confederation of the Polish Crown.
