He was responding to reports that the factory, part of state-owned Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), faces a shortage of new orders from the defense ministry, particularly for GROT A3 rifles, which could lead to job losses.
Asked about the issue after a cabinet meeting, Kosiniak-Kamysz said the question should be directed to President Karol Nawrocki.
“The Border Guard, the Police, not only the army, but all others, if they already had the possibility for the instrument handling European funds to enter into force, order certainty for Łucznik would be greater”, he said.
The minister was referring to the president’s March veto of legislation implementing the SAFE mechanism. The veto blocked creation of a special fund that would have received EU money and could also have directed it to the security services.
The government later declared, under its Poland Armed program, that it intended to take out a loan for the existing Armed Forces Support Fund. But under current rules, money from that fund can be used only for purposes directly linked to the army.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said he supported placing orders, “but there must be financial capacity”.
“Łucznik must also sell. It cannot depend only on the Polish Army. I hope it will take part in different tenders and offer its very good products”, he said.
In a response sent to Portal Obronny, PGZ said it was supporting the company’s management in actively seeking revenue-generating contracts. It added that PGZ remained in contact with the Armament Agency and was ready to provide further support in securing additional orders.
In November, Łucznik opened a production hall worth more than PLN 31 million (USD 8.6 million), designed to enable annual output of more than 80,000 weapons.
The government says talks are underway on how to redirect part of the EU funds to the security services and infrastructure. Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Tuesday that the SAFE loan agreement was to be signed later in April.
(jh)
Source: PAP