We are signing SAFE on Friday, but what about the interest rate? According to the government’s plenipotentiary for the SAFE programme, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, it is not yet known. The details are to be revealed only after the contracts are signed, with the first settlements scheduled for October. “Darkness, I see darkness!” internet users comment.
The government plans to sign the agreement under the SAFE programme on Friday, 8 May. This information was confirmed on Radio ZET by the government’s plenipotentiary for the SAFE programme, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka.
“Friday, 8 May, unless something extraordinary happens, we will meet in Warsaw. Commissioners, ministers, and the prime minister will be present,”
she said.
According to a resolution of the Council of Ministers, the agreement will be signed by Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Finance Minister Andrzej Domański. On behalf of the European Commission, Commissioners Piotr Serafin and Andrius Kubilius are expected to attend.
The SAFE programme provides for €150 billion in support for EU member states, of which Poland has been allocated €43.7 billion. Poland has opted for a 15% advance.
“This will amount to 15% of the total, i.e., €6.5 billion,” Sobkowiak-Czarnecka indicated. The funds are to be transferred to the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego shortly after the agreement is signed.
The settlement of projects is to begin in October and take place on a cyclical basis. At the same time, the government representative’s remarks suggest that some detailed financial parameters, including costs, will only become known after specific contracts have been concluded.
These points have been widely commented on in social media. Users of X note the contrast between the declaration of a swift signing of the agreement and the fact that key data, such as financing terms or a detailed settlement schedule, are to be specified only at a later stage.
See an excerpt from the interview:
“- We’re signing SAFE on Friday.
- What’s the interest rate?
- We don’t know.
- How can you not know?
- We’ll submit projects, sign contracts, and then we’ll find out.
- When will we find out?
- In October.
- And when do we have to spend the money?
- Well, by the end of May…”
