Polish president signs 2026 budget, sends it to constitutional tribunal for checks

WARSAW, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Polish President Karol Nawrocki said on X on Monday that he had signed the 2026 budget but sent it to the constitutional tribunal for checks that it adheres to the law, citing concern over the deficit and rising debt.

The decision to sign the bill means the government can implement the 2026 budget, clearing some uncertainty. If Nawrocki had not done so, the government would have been forced to act on the draft budget it had submitted to parliament, delaying some spending.

By law, the president cannot veto the budget bill, but can refer it to Poland's top court for legal verification, either before or after signing it.

Doing so signals opposition to Poland's Brussels-oriented government by Nawrocki, a conservative admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump who was elected as president in June. Nawrocki's predecessor took the same step in 2024 and 2025.

"The President has signed the budget. The budget of investments and record-high defense spending," Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski wrote on X.

"The rest, including referring the bill to the Constitutional Tribunal, is political theater with no real consequences," he added.

Nawrocki said he was signing the budget law "to protect the state and referring it to the Constitutional Tribunal to protect Poland's future".

"I didn't want to allow a situation where the president's decision becomes a pretext for another false narrative about blocking funds. I don't want the lack of my signature to become an alibi for the government's inaction," Nawrocki said.

He said that his main concern was Poland's rising debt, adding that the 2026 budget was the second in a row in which the deficit amounted to nearly a third of total expenditure.

The Polish government expects to run a general government deficit of 6.5% in 2026, marginally lower than last year but the highest in the European Union according to European Commission forecasts.

Spending that could have been delayed for up to two months if Nawrocki had not signed the bill would have included public sector wage hikes and additional funds for security services.