Andrzej Plum from PiS said on 16 August in tv Trwam that the equipment shown during the Polish Army parade was not bought from the SAFE program. The politician pointed to PLN 157 million of expenditure from the first PLN 28 billion, or 0.5% tranche. The real sovereignty of modernization of the army is at stake.
0.5 percent alternatively of a large story
Andrzej Śliwka, MP of Law and Justice and associate of the Parliamentary Committee on National Defence, hit the government communicative after the parade of the Polish Army. On the Polish imagination Point program in tv Trwam he said that the equipment viewed on the parade was not the consequence of the SAFE program. According to Radio Maryja, the MP indicated that PLN 157 million was spent from the first 28 billion, or 0.5%.
That is simply a strong charge, due to the fact that the government has been presenting SAFE for months as proof of the origin and European momentum. The problem is that the defilement shows real equipment, real contracts and real manufacture work, not the press conference itself. If modernization of the army is to be more than a political message, Poles have the right to know what they have already bought, for whose money and in what way.
SAFE is simply a loan, not a gift
The European Commission describes SAFE as an instrument up to EUR 150 billion preferential long-term loans for defence investments. Poland is to be the biggest beneficiary of the programme. According to the European Commission On 29 May 2026, she received the first €6.6 billion payment, or 15% of the full allocation of EUR 43.7 billion.
These are immense amounts. However, it must be called fair: it is not a bag of free money from Brussels, it is simply a debt mechanics with EU rules. The government may talk about the historical opportunity, but the opposition is obliged to ask about conditions, the pace of issuing and participation of Polish industry. In military matters, inexpensive enthusiasm can be as dangerous as marazmus.
The government had previously claimed that the vast majority of SAFE's resources were to go to the national armory. The Prime Minister's office informed that more than 80 percent of almost 200 billion PLN is expected to power Polish defence industry. It's an announcement to be cleared for the contract. Poland cannot only be a client of another people's factories and political priorities.
The defilement showed the achievements of earlier decisions
The celebration of the Polish Army has its own weight. This should not be a day of organization push, but a show of state strength and respect for soldiers. At the same time, politicians cannot cover themselves with uniform erstwhile they effort to gain credit for the trials started years earlier. Modernization of the army is the continuity of the state, not the advertising of 1 crew.
DN has already written that The Polish Army Festival took place in the shadow of the dispute over SAFE. There is simply a wider problem: the rulers are eager to show EU labels, the opposition answers the question about Polish control. For national interest it is more crucial than the description whether the equipment goes to the units, whether the contract strengthens Polish plants and whether decisions are made in Warsaw.
In that sense, Plum's message touches the point. If PLN 157 million was spent from the first tranche, then the political message about the river of money must be combined with the pace of real orders. An army doesn't defend borders with slides. He defends them with a soldier, ammunition, logistics and equipment delivered on time.
Sovereignty measured by execution
The SAFE dispute should not lead to the simple conclusion that any EU backing is by definition wrong. Poland needs money for defence, due to the fact that the threat from Russia is not a theory. But that's why national interests must be defended. The debt is intended to service Poland, not to make Polish purchases dependent on the political logic of Brussels, Berlin or Paris.
In the background is besides the number and condition of the army itself. On the occasion of the Feast of the Polish Army DN reminded that The Polish army exceeded 220 1000 soldiers. This is an crucial starting point, but the number itself is not enough. Reserves, training, ammunition supplies, efficient air defence and manufacture capable of producing during the crisis are needed.
The government has the right to usage financial instruments if the state strengthens. The opposition has the right to request an account. Poles have the right to answer simpler than the propaganda folder: how much money has already been spent, for what, for whom, and erstwhile equipment will go into the army. This is where marketing ends, and the work for the safety of the nation begins.
Source: Radio Maryja, European Commission, Office of the Prime Minister.
Source: Radio Maryja
