SAFE breakthrough, Digital border checks

Polish saying of the week: Mądry Polak [Brytyjczyk] po szkodzie.
“A Pole [Brit] is wise only after the damage is done.”

Meaning: Hindsight is 20/20. MAY 22, 2025 Highlights Agnieszka Bartol pushed SAFE through without ministers. On May 19, representatives of all 27 EU countries came to a deal on the Security Action for Europe (SAFE), a program of cheap loans for defence investments. The agreement comes two months after the European Commission submitted the proposal and EU leaders agreed in principle that the loan pool would amount to €150 billion. Poland is hoping for at least €20 billion out of that pot. From the outset, Bartol, Poland's permanent representative to the EU, who due to Poland’s presidency chairs the committee of ambassadors (Coreper II) has focused on ensuring that the tedious negotiations on the details of SAFE were hammered out on the ambassadorial, and not ministerial level of the EU Council. In this case, this strategy surely helped speed things up. Bartol is very comfortable among her fellow EU-level officials and diplomats, having begun her career in EU institutions more than twenty years ago, in 2002. Over the years, she’s been involved in negotiating the EU budget, cohesion and agriculture policies, as well as implementing the Lisbon Treaty. From 2016 to 2022, she headed the cabinet of Secretary General of the EU Council. In 2024, she joined the Polish government at the request of PM Donald Tusk.

The bigger picture | The Polish presidency calls SAFE a historic breakthrough. However, the government also argues that much more money is needed for joint armament programmes and intends to push through new European instruments in the coming months. Bartol may continue to play a major role in this, as she is both the Polish representative to the EU and Tusk's “sherpa”-- chief adviser on EU matters and key negotiator, particularly during EU summits. This is a rare model in Brussels, with only three or four other countries having the sherpa and ambassador to the EU combined into one role. This puts Bartol in a key position within the government's European negotiations.

Europe bets on e-government. GovTech, or “government technology” was the focus of an international summit in Rzeszów on May 21-22. During GovTech4Europe, representatives of public and private sectors discussed bridging gaps between EU member countries, startups and government administration, as well as business and academia. In this spirit, during the event it was announced that the EU-funded GovTech4All project will get a second edition. The initiative aims to foster a cohesive GovTech ecosystem across Europe, helping government agencies adopt good practices from other countries and procure services from startups. Its official kickoff will come in June during the GovTech4All Summit in Bilbao. There was also no shortage of debate on the hottest topics in the digital economy: artificial intelligence, and its uses and misuses in the public sector, as well as the role of GovTech in reaching technological sovereignty, through, for instance, building e-services with European software.

The bigger picture | According to Eurostat’s latest data, 70% of EU citizens interacted with public authorities online in the 12 months preceding the survey. For Poland, the result was slightly lower: 61%. Poland can boast at least one significant GovTech success story: the mObywatel mobile app. Among its growing number of functionalities, the most popular is mDowód — a digital identity card. On May 18, many Poles used it for the first time to identify themselves when casting their votes in the presidential election.

Poland boosts its diplomatic presence through the Weimar Plus format. May has been a busy month for PM Donald Tusk on the international front – all in a very specific crew. On May 10, Tusk went to Kyiv to meet president Volodymyr Zelensky, along with President Emmanuel Macron, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and PM Keir Starmer. They demanded a ceasefire from Russia and spoke to president Donald Trump via phone. It wasn’t the first meeting in such a format – on Feb. 12 in Paris, along with Italy and Spain, the foreign ministers of the six countries announced enhanced support for Ukraine. And now it seems that the format has gained some traction. Shortly after Kyiv, the ministers met in London to further discuss Ukraine and US policy, whereas Macron, Merz, Starmer and Tusk met again with Zelensky on May 16, on the sidelines of the EPC summit in Tirana, once more speaking on the phone with Trump following Russia–Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul.

The bigger picture | The original Weimar Triangle was created in 1991, comprising France, Germany, and Poland. Under the eurosceptic PiS government (2015-2023), the format wasn’t very active, but now that Tusk has established a good relationship with both Macron and Merz, there’s opportunity for more cooperation. For Poland, there’s a symbolic dimension to this revival as well. In recent years, watching foreign powers debate Ukraine scenarios without inviting much Polish input made for an awkward experience at times. After all, the country has the longest border with Ukraine in the EU and acts as a hub for sending aid to the eastern neighbor. While Poland fulfills its EU presidency duties as “honest broker,” Weimar Plus allows it to enter the fray more directly. The format follows a more dynamic and nimble political logic than EU institutions, reflecting the country’s international ambitions.At the time of the presidential electoral campaign in Poland, the diplomatic upgrade is also a good look for Tusk and his allies.

The view from Poland Trzaskowski won the election, but the right wing surge means he still might lose the second round. The results of the first round on May 18 came as a wake-up call for Rafał Trzaskowski (KO). Yes, he did win the first round with 31.36% of the vote, whereas Karol Nawrocki (backed by PiS) secured second place with 29.54%. However, Szymon Hołownia (Trzecia Droga) received 4.99%, and Magdalena Biejat (Nowa Lewica) garnered 4.23%, which means that the ruling coalition candidates received only 40% of the total vote. Meanwhile, far-right candidates Sławomir Mentzen (Konfederacja, 14.81%) and Grzegorz Braun (Korona Polski, 6.34%) together got 21% of the vote. If their voters don’t stay home on June 1, they are more likely to back Nawrocki. Left-wing opposition’s Adrian Zandberg (Razem) got 4.86% – his supporters will mainly back Trzaskowski in the final vote, but some will stay home. Read more about the results in Polityka Insight’s analysis. Bonus If you’d like to receive daily updates about Poland and the presidential campaign, consider signing up for a free trial of our analytical service.
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In Brief London and Brussels embarked on a path towards a reset. Closer defence cooperation was a key topic at the EU-UK summit in London on May 21, which is meant to kick off a post-Brexit thaw. The agreements on this issue have the potential to virtually reverse most of the effects of Brexit in the area of joint security. In an effort to facilitate trade, London has pledged to align its agricultural and animal product standards with those of the EU, a move that could boost its food exports by up to 20%. The EU and London also agreed to continue talks on making it easier for EU citizens to study in the UK with regard to residence, employment, and tuition fees. Digital border checks for non-EU nationals are coming this autumn. On May 19, the EU Council and MEP negotiators agreed to introduce the Entry/Exit digital border management system gradually over a period of six months starting in autumn. The system will digitally record the entries and exits of non-EU nationals travelling for short stays in an EU country, as well as their passport data, fingerprints, and facial images. This system will give EU countries real-time access to these travelers’ personal data, travel history, and authorised period of stay in the Schengen area. Ministers proposed guidelines for future EU cohesion policy. On May 21, an informal meeting of EU ministers responsible for cohesion policy, territorial cohesion, and urban matters was held in Warsaw. The ministers adopted a joint declaration, highlighting the uneven territorial impact of global challenges on Europe. In essence, the ministers argued that in a world increasingly shaped by great power politics, regional policy should not be abandoned but rather dynamically integrated into new frameworks. As the European Commission shapes its post-2027 budget outlook, the declaration asserts that EU regions should be treated by the Commission as partners, and not merely as recipients of funds. Poland wants to talk about optimising the EU legislative process. During the Competitiveness Council on May 22-23, the European Commission is set to present its Single Market Strategy, which it adopted on May 21, and report on the legislative simplification process. However, the Polish presidency wants to debate how to ensure that future legislation is constructed in a way that won’t require retroactive simplification. Impact assessments are one of the problems. The Commission carries them out for its own initial proposals, but when compromise versions are negotiated by the Council and MEPs, the assessments are not revised accordingly. A deal gets celebrated, but often without precise data on its impact on the economy. The EU Council is ready to negotiate with MEPs on farmers. On May 19, representatives of the 27 EU countries adopted a common position on reforming the Common Market Organisation (CMO), which aims to strengthen farmers' situation within the agri-food chain (e.g. in their contracts with supermarket chains). According to the EU Council's proposal, farmers would be permitted to back out of a long-term contract with a major purchaser after one year, as opposed to the six months proposed by the European Commission in December. Also, to resolve disputes between farmers and buyers, EU countries will have the option to implement mediation mechanisms, but these will be neither compulsory, nor EU-wide, as the Commission initially proposed. Noted We expect that Poland, as the country holding the rotating EU presidency, will play a more constructive role in promoting greater progress in China-EU relations. Said China's foreign minister Wang Yi in a phone conversation with his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski. If I had to summarise today's debate on the EU budget in a few words, I would take inspiration from the title of Daft Punk's famous song, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". Said budget commissioner Piotr Serafin at the 2025 Annual EU Budget Conference in Brussels. What to watch next week May 22-23 COMPET Council in Brussels.

May 23 Coreper II meeting in Brussels.

May 26 AGRIFISH Council in Brussels.

May 26 FAC/Development Council in Brussels.

May 27 Agenda 2030 Stakeholder Forum organised by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology in Warsaw.

May 27 GAC Council in Brussels.

May 27-28 EU Space Days conference organised by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology; European Commission and Polish Space Agency in Gdańsk.

May 28 Coreper II and Coreper I meetings in Brussels.

May 28 European Commission to table EU Start-up and Scale-up Strategy, EU Strategic Approach to the Black Sea Region, and Simplification of the External Action Guarantee.



Today's newsletter was curated by:
Authors: Tomasz Bielecki, Jan Jęcz, Tomasz Sawczuk
Editor: Hanna Kozłowska
Graphic design: Karolina Tomaszewska
Front-end development: Maciej Kurczewski
Project management and supervision: Joanna Bekker, Maciej Michalik, Weronika Rędziniak and Marcin Bąba

Photos: POU / Zuma Press / Forum, Wikimedia commons, The Chancellery of the Prime Minister / PAP S.A., EU Commision.

About Polityka Insight:
POLITYKA INSIGHT is a source of knowledge about Polish and European politics and economy for business leaders, political decision-makers, and diplomats.

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