Zbigniew Bogucki, who attended Friday's cabinet meeting as a presidential representative, said the Council of Ministers had adopted a resolution that amounted to "bypassing the law" – a consequence, he argued, of President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the original SAFE programme legislation.
"The Council of Ministers wants to implement the SAFE programme through a resolution this time. In my assessment, this is inadmissible," Bogucki said, adding that the resolution "repeats all the flaws of the act" and should be reviewed by the Constitutional Tribunal.
The SAFE programme offers EU-backed low-interest loans to member states for defence procurement.
Nawrocki said on Thursday he had decided to veto the law implementing the instrument.
Leader of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party Jarosław Kaczyński backed the presidential position, arguing the government's resolution was unconstitutional.
He also cast doubt on whether any bank would lend money on the basis of what he called an "abuse", and suggested a future government might not honour the commitments.
The government lacks enough votes in parliament to override it.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski called the presidential veto "truly scandalous", saying he had believed there was cross-party consensus in Poland on the need to rearm its military.
Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the government would use the Armed Forces Support Fund to access SAFE financing, and that the defence ministry's core budget would not be used to repay any loans.
"The veto complicates, but thankfully does not prevent, the implementation of this strategically vital project of building a secure Poland," he said.
(ał)
Source: PAP