“You will not stop the funds for the modernization of the Polish army,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told opposition lawmakers.
He said sovereignty, freedom and independence—core democratic values—require a strong military backed by adequate funding.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said the government plans to carry out a major modernization programme through the Armed Forces Support Fund, a financial mechanism used to fund defence purchases.
The move is part of what officials describe as a “plan B” after President Andrzej Duda vetoed a bill implementing the European Union's SAFE defence financing programme in Poland.
Kosiniak-Kamysz told MPs that relying on the Armed Forces Support Fund was less advantageous than the government’s original proposal, which would have ensured that loans taken under the SAFE programme would not be repaid from the defence ministry’s budget.
However, he said a government resolution adopted on Friday would also guarantee protection of the ministry’s budget.
Shifting financing to the Armed Forces Support Fund could complicate funding for other security services, as money from the fund can only be used for the Polish military, according to officials.
Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that Poland has previously taken out defence loans from countries outside the European Union and NATO, including South Korea, under a previous PiS-led government.
He said such borrowing can be justified when necessary and pointed to the US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme as another source of defence loans approved by government decisions rather than specific acts of parliament.
“We will make the Polish army the strongest in Europe by 2030,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told lawmakers, urging opposition parties to support the effort.
'We cannot lose a single day in rearming Polish military': FM
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski warned lawmakers that the international security environment was deteriorating. He cited Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East and the possibility of a future conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.
Sikorski said that if such a confrontation occurred, Washington could shift much of its resources to the Asia-Pacific region, making it even more urgent for Poland to strengthen its own defences.
“We cannot lose a single day in rearming the Polish military,” he said. “What we do today may determine the future fate of our country.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Nawrocki's veto of the SAFE legislation undermined Poland’s military and defence industry.
He also pointed to what he said was the loss of more than PLN 7 billion from the programme for cybersecurity projects.
Poland has applied for EUR 43.7 billion in low-interest defence loans under the EU’s SAFE programme and has been identified by EU institutions as its largest potential beneficiary.
According to the government, about 89 percent of those funds was destined for domestic defence companies.
Last week, Nawrocki and central bank chief Adam Glapiński proposed an alternative financing plan dubbed “Polish SAFE 0%,” which would create a defence investment fund financed primarily from central bank profits, but details remain sketchy, state news agency PAP reported.
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