“Cava on the bench”, says Donald Tusk and puts the ultimatum to president Karol Nawrock and the NBP president Adam Glapiński. The Prime Minister demands immediate details on the proposal "SAFE 0%" and declares: if the papers are placed on the government's desk today, the bill on billions for Polish reinforcements will be in the Sejm on Monday. Does mythical funds from the central bank truly exist, or is it just a political game for the safety of the country in the shadow of constitutional disputes?
Photo kprm / youtube
Donald Tusk, on Friday 6 March 2026, urged president Karol Nawrocki and NBP president Adam Glapiński to present the "concrete" proposals referred to as "SAFE 0%". "I am very impatient, but I look forward to circumstantial details with specified heartfelt anticipation," said the Prime Minister. He stressed that if “President Nawrocki or president Glapinski have anything circumstantial about additional money from the NBP for the defence, safety of Poland”, then “not to hold and not to hesitate.” Tusk added that the substance should be made public: “To be in the light of the spotlight, so that there is no ambiguity. (...) There is nothing to hide here, just coffee on the bench and we go.”
What Tusk said on 6 March and what he announced on the bill
The Prime Minister linked Friday's speech to readiness for legislative work. "Please deliver the specifics as shortly as possible, and I warrant it will take us a fewer hours to turn it into a bill, and if I get this material today, there will be a bill in the Sejm on Monday on the anticipation of launching these funds," he announced. At the same time, he reserved that the subject should not become part of a political dispute and, in its view, cannot be a "political duel" or "alternative" to solutions already prepared.
Tusk's earlier appeal of 5 March: video on X and KPRM message
The day before, on March 5, Tusk addressed the president and head of NBP in a video published on X, the content of which KPRM besides posted on gov.pl. "Mr President, president of the NBP, there is no time for combinations. Poland, national companies and their employees and our safety are waiting for money from the Polish SAFE programme" – he said in the recording. In the same message, he emphasized that "these factories are already working on this program", "this money is on the table", and "by May we can plan to spend almost PLN 200 billion", saying, "No political games."
NBP thread and gold in statements from March 5
On Thursday's material, the Prime Minister besides referred to the thread of backing with the participation of NBP, recalling – according to gov.pl – a letter from the president of the Central Bank of December 2025. The description cited by the NRP shows that Tusk spoke about the scale of the NBP's losses between 2024 and 2025 and that the letter was intended to measure that "a NBP's losses in subsequent years cannot be excluded". "We anticipate very circumstantial and precise information on this subject, due to the fact that these are truly serious issues," said the Prime Minister. In the same speech he besides addressed the Polish gold deposited abroad, stating – according to the relations of the Polish National Bank of Poland – that it should "return to the country at last".
Two backing concepts: EU SAFE and “SAFE 0%”
The context of the dispute is 2 parallel concepts of financing defence investments. The government seeks to implement the EU SAFE programme and to mobilise funds after the adoption of the applicable law. According to PAP, Poland is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the programme and can gain around EUR 43.7 billion, or almost PLN 200 billion. On the another hand, the president and president of NBP presented the concept of “Polish SAFE 0 percent” as a solution linked to the function of the central bank. According to PAP and the media, at the time of the public presentation of this idea, neither a complete mechanics of action nor a ready-made bill was presented, and Adam Glapiński said publically that he had "not yet presented any specifics" of the initiative.
What Economists Say About Legal Barriers
Doubts about the legal framework are raised by economists quoted by PAP. Piotr Kuczyński of DI Xelion said that "Article 220 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland clearly states that the NBP cannot finance its state budget with its resources", and that the possible usage of central bank funds for purposes that should usually be covered by the budget would mean financing state spending by another way. “How do you make it legal? That's what lawyers gotta ask. They will surely come up with something," he said.
Position of the Ministry of Finance
The proposal “SAFE 0 percent” was addressed by Finance Minister Andrzej Domański in the entry in the X site, quoted by the media. ‘Safety must not depend on one-off operations. There is no specified thing as “SAFE 0 percent.” The real, ready to be signed by the President, SAFE remains the cheapest and best origin of backing for defence investments," he wrote. In the same comment, he pointed out that if the NBP made a advanced profit and transferred it to the budget, it was ‘very good’, but ‘for the time being, not a single gold has been added to the budget for 3 years’.
Which remains unexplained
On Friday, Tusk made the case dependent on the transfer of the "material" with solutions and data. At this stage, as is apparent from PAP and the media, it remains unclear how precisely the "SAFE 0%" mechanics would work, what would be its legal basis and what circumstantial sources and how the funds that the president and the NBP are talking about should be launched.
DF, thefad.pl / Source: KPRM/Gov.pl
