Polish FM Criticizes Nawrocki's Alternative SAFE Defense Plan

Disagreement between the Government and the Presidency
The underlying issue of the disagreement is that the Polish Government's plan is to utilize money that is available to countries through SAFE, or Security Action for Europe, which is a €150 billion loan program set up by the EU. While the Polish Government passed legislation that would allow Poland to access the €43.7 billion, you now have until March 20, 2013, for President Nawrocki to either sign that legislation or veto it.

However, the President has put forward a different proposal at a time of significant political turmoil between the centrist Government and the dominant right-wing opposition party (Law and Justice, PiS) that supports President Nawrocki. His proposal is called "Polish SAFE Zero Percent" and is proposed to use financial resources from the National Bank of Poland (NBP). The proposed funding would be the profits generated by the NBP for the recent increase in both gold and foreign currency reserves. Law Sikorski rejected the notion of funding any new programs by creating financial resources from the proposed SAFE program. Sikorski went on to say that creating financial resources to fund the SAFE program was unrealistic and that you would have to accept that there would be financial risks or costs associated with doing so. He urged the president to support the government's proposed funding for resolving assistance through the European Union.

Regarding the SAFE Defense Program
The SAFE Program was developed to provide the European Union Member States with long-term, low-interest loans to develop defense products. The SAFE program was prepared during Poland's presidency of the European Union, where Poland had an integral role. However, Law and Justice, Poland's political party, has expressed concerns that SAFE will increase the long-term public debt of Poland and will provide other countries with considerable influence over Polish domestic decisions.

On the same date, Prime Minister Donald Tusk rejected the president's proposal as being "SAFE 0.0 zlt" and that there were fewer funding guarantees than provided for in the government program that supports 140 projects related to defense with loans from the European Union.

Final Decision- Does It Reside with the President or Government?
At this time, there is no announcement from the President regarding a veto of the government's bill. According to a statement by Prime Minister Tusk, he is preparing a fallback plan to access SAFE funding if the President vetoes the government's bill. Details of the fallback plan have not been released.

Governor Adam Glapiński of the National Bank of Poland was present at the meeting between President Nawrocki and Prime Minister Tusk on November 7. The Defense Minister was in attendance, and other senior officials from the government were also present. The proposal from the President was reviewed by the National Bank of Poland, which has stated it will not engage in political disputes because they are an apolitical organization. However, the National Bank of Poland has also indicated it might have the ability to provide financing to support SAFE.

The Independent Press is reporting that both Ministers Sikorski and Tusk are sceptical and contest the financial forecasts made by Governor Glapiński and his staff in regard to the proposal from the President. The disagreements between the government and the presidency demonstrate a growing rift between the two branches of government on how Poland will fund the modernization of its national defense.