The Session of the National Security Council - News National Security Bureau

Opening the session, President Karol Nawrocki remarked that the talks scheduled for today would centre on three main topics: arms procurement under the SAFE programme, invitation extended to Poland to join the Board of Peace, and the connections with the East, personal and business, of the Sejm Marshal Włodzimierz Czarzasty. As the President added: “In recent days, far too many questions have been piling up — and far too few reliable answers have been forthcoming”.

Each of the topics on the agenda concerns a specific dimension of security of the Republic of Poland, but they all have one common denominator: decision–making sovereignty of the state and the confidence the country’s citizens have in its institutions, the institutions that are expected to provide them with real and not token security.

Referring to SAFE, the President pointed out that the purpose of the meeting is to verify “whether SAFE can contribute to the real enhancement of security of the Republic of Poland”. Making a sound assessment requires steering clear of overwhelming enthusiasm on the one hand and abandoning haphazard negation on the other. “This is a matter of having a reliable assessment, clear assurances, and authentic supervision,” as the President pointed out.

In President´s view, the country should review the programme in a merit–based and responsible manner, perceiving its potential importance to the bolstering of defense capabilities of members states while also recognizing the inherent risks of the prrogramme“. The President concluded that so far, apart from Donald Tusk’s government’s euphoria, no detailed information has been made available.

He emphasized that, in this particular case, key questions about the details are still pending.

“In the first place, the question of loan mechanism and conditionality,”pointed out Karol Nawrocki emphasizing that SAFE is not a grant but a loan in the amount of €43.7 billion.

The President added that this would entail a huge debt to be repaid by the Polish state over years to come. “That is why the Polish people have the right to know what will be the genuine cost of the liability incurred, and on what terms it will be offered”.

Even if on the face of it SAFE relies on a loan mechanism, it is virtually impossible to overlook the direct risk, i.e. the risk of combining disbursement with broadly understood political conditionality. The ultimate decision on disbursement and the terms thereof will be vested in European Commission, noted the President.

He also flagged up the questions concerning audit and transparency of expenditure. Poland‘s President assessed that in this connection it is legitimate to disclose the list of 139 projects to be implemented under this initiative.

In line with the government’s declarations as much as 80% of the funds from SAFE will be allocated to defense industry. “Obviously this is the line of action that I am aligned with hundred percent, but so far no documents have been submitted with what makes such declarations credible,” pointed out the President adding that the structuring of a programme would be especially benefit Western European arms industries.

Referring to the second item on the agenda, President Karol Nawrocki stated that Poland had been invited to join the Board of Peace, US President Donald Trump‘s new initiative, whose purpose is to secure cooperation of states in pursuit of stabilization and conflict prevention. He remarked that the proposal may have tangible strategic consequences as well as those political, military, allied, economic, and business–related.

“I was invited to come to Washington DC on February 19 for the inauguration of the Board of Peace. This confirms the open status of the matter”, said the President.

He pointed out that the problem at the moment is that so far the government has not presented any specific position, nor any opinion or substantive analysis on Poland's accession to this format. – “In my view, this borders on the deeply unserious „ assessed Karol Nawrocki.

– 'I am aware that any final decision on Poland's accession to international structures or organisations – at the very end, after the whole process – is the decision of the President of Poland, but nevertheless it requires an initiative from the government,' Poland’s President remarked.

At the same time, Karol Nawrocki dismissed the emerging reports about the alleged membership fee of one billion dollars to be paid upon accession to the Board of Peace.

He stressed that the current security landscape is evolving. “Given the current circumstances, the core question is whether Poland wants a seat at the table where key decisions are taken, or whether it is content to remain a spectator on the sidelines”, Karol Nawrocki concluded.

He expressed hope that he would learn the government's position on the issue during today's talks.

The Polish President also recalled that the third item on the Council meeting agenda is the issue of the Speaker of the Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty's, personal and business ties to the East. “At a time of war on our eastern border and intensified hybrid actions, attempts at influence and pressure, disinformation and hybrid attacks on Polish territory and the situation in the Baltic Sea, any information raising doubts about potential contacts with Russian citizens or state–linked structures concerning individuals holding the highest offices must be reliably explained.”

He pointed out that, according to Article 131 of the Constitution, if the President of the Republic of Poland is unable to perform their function, the Speaker of the Sejm assumes the duties of the head of state — and if the Speaker of the Sejm is also unable to perform their function, then the Speaker of the Senate assumes these duties.

'This means that the Speaker: the Marshal of the Sejm is not merely a political role, but a systemic institution embedded in the state’s constitutional continuity,' remarked the President.

He stressed that Włodzimierz Czarzasty has access to classified information by virtue of his office, not as a result of a security clearance procedure. In his remarks, the President of Poland aked questions referring to these circumstances. Why did Mr Czarzasty not undergo an extended security clearance procedure? Was his decision based on formal reasons or fear of the consequences of revealing certain relationships and circumstances? – enquired the President.

The Polish President underlined that the election of the Speaker of the Sejm was the product of a particular political design attributed to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. In conclusion, the Polish President stated that the security and interests of the state are at stake in this case, which is why the matter must be clarified by the relevant authorities.