Tusk made the announcement during a meeting of a crisis management team on Wednesday as Poland continued to battle its worst flooding in decades. The floods, which hit the southwest of the country hard, have caused significant damage to businesses and homes.

The state will assume the repayments through a Borrower Support Fund, which will provide financial relief to those affected by the floods.

“We will be paying off the loan installments for 12 months—we as the state,” Tusk said, adding that this initiative constitutes the cancellation of payment rather than deferral.

“For at least a year you will have peace of mind regarding loan repayments,” said Tusk.

The plan is designed to relieve flood-hit households from the burden of loan payments, regardless of the size of their mortgage. Finance Minister Andrzej Domański confirmed that the relief will not require repayment, adding that applications can be submitted both electronically and in paper form.

“We’ve already spoken with the banking sector,” said Domański.

“Work is well underway to defer payments on other types of loans as well—not just mortgages, but cash loans and loans taken by small and medium-sized businesses.”

Fixed prices

Tusk also said that, if necessary, fixed prices could be introduced on essential goods after receiving reports that prices for critical items had surged in flood-affected areas.

“I want to warn anyone trying to profit from this tragedy,” Tusk said. “There are legal tools associated with states of emergency, and we will use them to restore pre-flood prices if needed.”

Under Polish law, declaring a state of natural disaster allows the government to implement price controls on essential goods and services. Tusk urged businesses to voluntarily return to pre-flood pricing, saying, “We will ruthlessly use legal means if needed to protect those affected by the disaster.”