Presidential Bill on Polish Defence Investments Fund
President of Poland Karol Nawrocki has submitted to the Sejm a bill of law on Polish Defence Investments Fund. Presidential initiative to establish the Fund comes as an implementation of a „Polish SAFE 0%” concept.
President of Poland presented the assumptions of the bill at the meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence Władysław Kosiniak–Kamysz, President of the National Bank of Poland Adam Glapiński and Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański. Also Head of the Chancellery of the President Zbigniew Bogucki took part in the talks.
The President invited Government’s representatives headed by the Prime Minister to present to them concrete solutions: economic, financial and legislative behind the concept that is rightly called in the public a “Polish SAFE 0%”. Prime Minister called for more details, and todays has been provided with such details, equally legislative, thus legal details, and economic details, said the Head of the Chancellery of the President at the ensuing press conference.
The bill proposes that Polish Defence Investment Fund should be set up in the BGK Bank to finance the technical modernisation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland as well as other tasks which serve to bolster the state’s security and resilience.
The tasks to be carried out using the Fund's resources and a detailed plan for spending the funds on their implementation will be set out in a multi–year program prepared by the Minister of National Defence and adopted by the Fund Council, entitled “Multi–Year Defence Investment Program,” in line with the presidential initiative.
Today, we are able to generate approximately PLN 200 billion over the next 4–5 years at virtually no cost, hence the “Polish SAFE 0%,” through the sound management of the National Bank of Poland's reserves – without depleting them – the moneys which will be redirected to the Polish Defence Investment Fund. This is done with the view of providing the funds to the Polish army in the broadest sense of the word, but also to make sure they ae not allocated anywhere else’, emphasized Zbigniew Bogucki.
The Minister pointed out that regardless of who is going to govern Poland, this money is to be earmarked exclusively for defence spending, and not for “filling the budget gap” or for other expenses.
Presidential advisor Leszek Skiba also pointed out that “additional mechanisms have been introduced specifically for the Minister of National Defence – bond issues, credits, and loans.” “Just in case, so that, as it is the case with other funds, the defence fund could additionally increase these defence expenditures. Although the profit from gold should be sufficient,” he assessed.
The law fully guarantees the independence of the National Bank of Poland, is in line with the Constitution and European law, and protects us from all risks related to debt monetization, he assured.
The advisor pointed out that the “patrons” of the Fund will be the President and the Prime Minister, and its governing bodies will be the Fund Council and the Steering Committee. He added that participation in the work will be free of charge. The administrator of the funds, as in the case of the European SAFE, will be the Minister of Defence, and the banking operator will be Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego BGK, he said.
“An anti–corruption safeguard is also in place. It is important that there be no doubt the funds are spent fairly and without risks of corruption or misuse,” the advisor said.
After last week's meeting with the President of the National Bank of Poland, the President emphasized: “We have a concrete, Polish, safe, and sovereign alternative to the EU's SAFE program, which will not involve any financial interest.”
„We met with the President of the Central Bank to fine–tune the initiative that will secure PLN 185 billion for Poland. The funds will not incur interest and will not constitute credit obligations until 2070. They will also not be tied to any changes in the situation within the European Union. They will give the Polish Armed Forces the flexibility they need to choose equipment from the EU or other regions of the world,” the President said at the time.
Karol Nawrocki invited Government representatives to the Presidential Palace to discuss the details of the proposal. The President, who is Commander–in–Chief of the Armed Forces, also held consultations with the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, General Wiesław Kukuła, and the Head of the Armament Agency, Major General Artur Kuptel, on the process of modernizing the Polish Armed Forces in the context of the EU SAFE loan.
The President has until March 20, 2026, to take a decision on the EU’s SAFE programme (the Act on the SAFE Financial Instrument for Enhancing Security).