Mariusz Błaszczak, head of the Law and Justice (PiS) parliamentary caucus, cited a PLN 48.5 billion (EUR 11.4 billion) state-budget shortfall recorded in January-February and warned that turning to SAFE, which carries a 3% interest cap, would “shackle Poland with more euro-denominated debt”.
“This is a drama,” Błaszczak told reporters. “SAFE is a Brussels scam, a German payday loan. We must not agree to it.”
SAFE loans are meant to help EU members fund defense orders, to be repaid over up to 45 years. President Karol Nawrocki vetoed enabling legislation last week, saying the deal threatened “our sovereignty” and could cost Poles PLN 180 billion (EUR 42 billion) in interest. The government has since approved a workaround allowing state bank BGK to contract the credit for the armed-forces support fund.
PiS lawmakers said cumulative budget gaps of PLN 211 billion (EUR 50 billion) in 2024 and 276 billion (EUR 65 billion) in 2025 show the debt “snowball” already rolling; they argued Warsaw should seek domestic financing instead.
Ruling-coalition MP Janusz Cichoń retorted that high deficits are “unavoidable” after PiS’s own spending pledges and noted Poland’s debt-to-GDP ratio remains below the EU average. Criticism of SAFE, he added, is part of “a race to outbid the far-right in questioning our EU membership”.
Under a separate presidential proposal dubbed “Polish SAFE 0%,” the central bank and treasury would fund defense at no interest. The bill is before parliament.
(jh)
Source: PAP