Poland Faces “Real Threat” of EU Exit After Loan Veto—PM

(MENAFN) Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that there is “a real threat” that Poland could exit the European Union, following President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of a bill that would have allowed Warsaw to access billions in EU defense loans.

The legislation, blocked last week, would have enabled Poland to draw nearly €44 billion ($50 billion) in low-interest loans, largely intended for domestic arms manufacturers. In response, the government held an emergency cabinet session, granting its defense and finance ministers authority to sign the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) agreement directly, bypassing the veto.

On X, Tusk criticized right-wing parties, particularly the opposition Law and Justice bloc, and Nawrocki himself, accusing them of pursuing a “Polexit.” He also suggested that Russia, U.S. President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, and European actors led by Hungary’s Viktor Orban are working to “smash the EU,” warning that such an outcome for Poland “would be a catastrophe,” and pledging to do “everything” to prevent it.

Western officials have cited potential Russian aggression to justify increased military spending, including the EU’s €800 billion ($870 billion USD) ReArm Europe initiative and NATO members’ commitments to raise defense budgets to 5% of GDP, though Moscow has dismissed these claims as “nonsense.”

EU members have faced challenges meeting these targets, while also attempting to rebuild the bloc’s defense industry amid rising costs for acquiring U.S. weapons for Ukraine. The SAFE program, introduced by the European Commission last year, is a key tool to address these objectives. It allows the EU to borrow €150 billion (around $165 billion USD) from global markets to fund member-state loans for defense projects.

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