PiS Suspends Senator Jacek Włosowicz Over SAFE Program Support

Law and Justice (PiS) suspended senator Jacek Włosowicz from the party on March 18, 2026, and initiated a procedure to remove him from both the parliamentary caucus and the party itself. The decision came after Włosowicz publicly supported the SAFE program and directed criticism at President Karol Nawrocki. The move triggered immediate commentary from PiS representatives, who accused the senator of crossing political lines. The outlet Do Rzeczy reported that Włosowicz had already been expelled outright, while sources including naTemat and wPolityce described the action as a suspension with expulsion proceedings underway. The discrepancy between reports reflects the speed and intensity of the party's internal response on the evening of March 18.

PiS members say senator is "mentally on Tusk's side" PiS representatives moved quickly to frame Włosowicz's conduct as a fundamental breach of party loyalty. According to RMF24, party members stated that Włosowicz is „"mentally on Tusk's side"” — PiS representatives via rmf24.pl — a pointed accusation in the context of Polish opposition politics, where Prime Minister Donald Tusk leads the governing coalition that PiS opposes. The SAFE program, which Włosowicz endorsed, is a European Union defense financing instrument that the Polish government has been actively promoting. PiS has taken a critical stance toward the program, making Włosowicz's public support for it a direct challenge to the party line. His additional criticism of President Nawrocki, who is politically aligned with PiS, compounded the breach. The combination of those two positions appears to have accelerated the party's decision to act.

Poland will not lose a single euro from SAFE, envoy says Separately, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, the Government Plenipotentiary for the Instrument for Increasing Europe's Security, announced after talks with the European Commission that Poland would not lose any funds from the SAFE program, according to Gazeta.pl. Sobkowiak-Czarnecka's statement came on the same evening as the Włosowicz suspension, underscoring the political salience of the SAFE issue in Polish domestic debate. The announcement was intended to address concerns about Poland's access to the program's financial resources. Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, a former journalist with Polsat and Polish Television who was appointed plenipotentiary in 2025, has been the government's primary point of contact with Brussels on the SAFE instrument. Her confirmation that Poland's funding position was secure added a direct policy dimension to what had become a flashpoint within PiS.

Włosowicz's long political career now at a crossroads Jacek Włosowicz is a senator of the 11th term with a political career spanning multiple parliamentary cycles, having previously served in the Senate during the sixth, ninth, and tenth terms and as a member of the European Parliament during the seventh term, according to his public registry entry. His suspension marks a significant rupture in a career built within the Polish right. The internal PiS procedure now underway could result in his formal removal from the caucus, which would affect his standing in the Senate. PiS has governed Poland from 2015 to 2023 and remains the largest single opposition grouping in the Polish parliament following its electoral defeat in October 2023. The party has historically maintained strict internal discipline, and public dissent from the party line by sitting parliamentarians has been rare and typically met with swift institutional consequences. The episode reflects broader tensions within PiS over European defense policy at a moment when the SAFE instrument has become a contested issue between the opposition and the Tusk government. Whether Włosowicz will contest the expulsion procedure or seek alignment with another political grouping remained unclear as of the evening of March 18.