00:02Poland's president Karol Nawrowski has vetoed legislation that would have enabled the country
00:07to access nearly 44 billion euros in EU defense loans.
00:12The move escalates a political clash with the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk
00:17over how to finance the country's defense spending.
00:20The bill would have allowed Warsaw to access funds from the EU's SAFE program.
00:24The 150 billion euros initiative aims at strengthening Europe's defense industry.
00:30Poland was set to receive around 44 billion euros in loans under the scheme,
00:36making it the largest potential beneficiary.
00:39Donald Tusk's pro-EU coalition argued the loans would accelerate Poland's military modernization
00:45at a time of heightened security concerns following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
00:51Nawrowski, who is aligned with the conservative opposition,
00:54argued that relying on EU loans would increase Poland's dependence on Brussels.
00:59Instead, he has proposed using domestic resources to finance defense investments.
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