At an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Friday, the government adopted a resolution authorizing the defense minister and the finance and economy minister to sign an agreement tied to the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program.
The move came a day after Nawrocki said he would block the law, arguing that the mechanism would weaken Poland’s sovereignty and economic and military independence.
The clash reflects a broader struggle between Poland’s pro-European government and a president backed by the nationalist opposition. It also comes as Warsaw tries to speed up military spending amid growing concern over regional security.
Poland has applied for EUR 43.7 billion in low-interest defence loans under the SAFE program and has been identified by EU institutions as its largest potential beneficiary.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the veto would not stop the government’s rearmament plans. Before the meeting, he said history would judge the president’s decision harshly and suggested that only Russian media welcomed it.
He added that European leaders had been calling him in confusion after the veto announcement.
Under the new resolution, the SAFE loan is to be taken out by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), Poland’s state development bank, for the Armed Forces Support Fund.
The government said the defense ministry’s core budget would be protected and would not be used to repay the loan.
The resolution also provides for internal oversight, as well as anti-corruption and counterintelligence safeguards for money used through the program.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the government had secured a way to use the Armed Forces Support Fund so Poland could still draw on the European money.
He accused opposition lawmakers of putting political hostility ahead of army modernization.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski argued that Poland could not afford delay at a time of worsening international instability. He said the collapse of legal norms in world affairs and the growing international crisis meant Poland had to strengthen its armed forces immediately, not next year or later.
The presidential camp rejected the government’s move. Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the President's Office, said the resolution amounted to a circumvention of the law and should be reviewed by the Constitutional Tribunal.
He argued that the government was trying to impose a long-term financial obligation on Poland without the president’s consent and warned against allowing outside institutions to influence decisions taken in Warsaw through so-called conditionality mechanisms, meaning rules that tie funding to broader legal or political requirements.
The dispute also spilled into parliament, where debate over the veto became heated.
Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said blocking the SAFE law was a "shot in the back" of Polish soldiers, the armed forces, and the economy. He said that the government had planned to direct more than PLN 7 billion from the program into cybersecurity.
Law and Justice party leader Jarosław Kaczyński said the government’s action was unconstitutional and questioned whether any binding commitment would result from it.
He also repeated his argument that the broader plan served "German ambitions for dominance in Europe" and accused Tusk of helping carry them out.
The European Commission signaled that it wants to move quickly. Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said on Friday that Brussels was finalizing the loan agreement so it could be signed with the Polish authorities and allow an advance payment next month.
He said time was critical and the plan had to be implemented without delay.
Nawrocki and central bank chief Adam Glapiński have promoted an alternative plan called “Polish SAFE 0%.” It would create a Polish Defense Investment Fund financed mainly from National Bank of Poland profits.
Supporters say that would protect national decision-making and reduce exposure to outside pressure. Tusk dismissed the proposal as unreliable and politically motivated.