WARSAW, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The parliamentary group of the Polish People's Party (PSL) on Tuesday submitted a bill to establish a Polish Defense Investment Fund, PSL party leader and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has announced.
The bill aims to address shortcomings in the presidential "SAFE 0%" proposal, and comes amid an ongoing dispute between the president and government over how to finance Poland's defense expansion.
Earlier this month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a legislation enabling Poland to access 43.7-billion-euro (50.66-billion-U.S.-dollar) loans under the European Union (EU)'s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program, citing concerns over long-term debt and EU influence over Poland's defense policy.
Nawrocki and central bank governor Adam Glapinski responded by proposing the "SAFE 0%" concept, suggesting that profits from revaluing Poland's gold reserves could fund defense spending without borrowing from the EU.
However, the PSL and government officials have criticized the proposal for lacking clear funding mechanisms and for granting the president an oversight role they say is unconstitutional.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the new PSL bill expands the fund's scope to include not only the military but also police, border guards, cybersecurity, intelligence services, and military healthcare. It seeks to clarify funding sources and place the fund under government control, while including representatives of both the president and the prime minister in its governing bodies. ■