PGZ's preliminary requests account for over half of Poland's EUR 43.7 bln SAFE allocation
In its initial plans presented to the European Commission, the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) submitted applications for more than half of Poland's EUR 43.7 billion allocation under EU's SAFE instrument, PGZ's deputy CEO Jan Grabowski told PAP Biznes on the sidelines of the BCC For The Future conference. He noted that it would not be clear until the end of November which projects Poland would ultimately submit for funding.
Grabowski pointed out that by the end of July, EU countries interested in joining the SAFE instrument (totalling EUR 150 billion) were to submit their applications.
"Poland submitted such an application by the end of July – the application included investment and modernisation projects, and the Commission approved these applications for a total of EUR 43.7 billion," the deputy CEO of the Polish Armaments Group told reporters.
According to the schedule on the EC website, countries wishing to take advantage of the EUR 150 billion in preferential loans under SAFE programme are to submit their national defence investment plans by November 30, 2025. In the next step, by January 2026, the EU Council is to adopt decisions implementing SAFE, and by February, loan agreements for these investments are to be negotiated and pre-financing launched.
"By November 30, the European Commission expects all countries wishing to join SAFE to submit their investment projects (...). The Polish Armaments Group will contribute to the government's submission to the European Commission," deputy CEO Grabowski added.
He noted that SAFE is currently overseen by the Ministry of National Defence (MON).
When asked how much of the EUR 43.7 billion from SAFE would be allocated to projects of the Polish Armaments Group, he replied that, according to the original plans, it would be more than half.
"Our projects in these original plans, which were submitted by the end of July, accounted for well over half of this amount. However, I do not know what projects the Polish government will ultimately decide to submit by November 30," Grabowski noted.
When asked about the projects submitted by PGZ, he emphasised that the SAFE instrument is something new and that it is not only financing the purchase of armaments, but also possible investments in infrastructure and production capacity.
"SAFE is also international cooperation, so it is not just a purchase for Poland," PGZ's deputy CEO noted.
Grabowski added that one of the ideas within SAFE is to support Ukraine.
"But in order for us to support Ukraine as the Republic of Poland, we need to change the law - the homeland defence act or establish a new fund under the Minister of Finance, under Poland's state development bank BGK, which will pool these SAFE funds," he pointed out.
Grabowski explained earlier during the panel discussion that the Armed Forces Support Fund (FWSZ), currently operating under the homeland defence act, is intended only for the Polish armed forces, and that the act would have to be amended in order to be able to implement international projects in accordance with the SAFE's purpose.
The Armed Forces Support Fund (FWSZ) operates under the homeland defence act of March 11, 2022. The fund provides financing or co-financing for tasks resulting from the Armed Forces development programme established by the Ministry of National Defence.
SAFE (Security Action for Europe) fund is the EU's instrument aimed to boost European defence and arms sector.
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