The European Commission announced on Thursday that Poland will not receive the money owed to it from the European Union’s recovery fund unless it reaches the goals and milestones agreed jointly by the Polish government with the European Union during months of negotiations.
The Reuters According to his report, Poland is also entitled to 24 billion euros in support and 11.5 billion euros in ultra-cheap loans from the Recovery Fund, which could make its economy greener and digitize after the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the money has been withheld by the European Commission, because Poland’s ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), does not want to withdraw the changes made to the justice system in the past seven years.
Although this is one of the conditions that Warsaw has already agreed with the European Commission.
Law and Justice leaders recently emphasized that they would not make concessions and also raised the possibility of making decision-making in the EU more difficult if Poland EU funds cannot be requested.
The Commission and Poland have been discussing this plan for months, and all the details have been signed by both parties, so there is no room for misunderstanding.
It is clear that the agreed milestones and goals must be met
– said a European Commission spokesman.
According to the head of the ruling party, the goal is to weaken
Yaroslav KaczynskiThe head of Law and Justice recently stated in a newspaper interview that the debate over the independence of the judiciary is actually just an excuse, and therefore the Polish government will not make any further concessions.
According to the party chief’s view, Poland will be weakened with the help of the head of the opposition Civic Latform party, Donald Tusk, who also previously led the European People’s Party.
Kaczyński also added it The European Commission, despite the transformation of the Polish Supreme Court, does not begin to pay the money owed from the Recovery Fund, although it was already voted on in the Warsaw Parliament only after tough battles in 2021.
Hungary is also ready to compromise
He said Hungary is ready to reach a compromise with Brussels in order to end the protracted impasse that has prevented the country from accessing the EU’s post-coronavirus recovery fund. Tibor NavraxixMinister Responsible for Regional Development and Use of European Union Funds.
I am confident that this change, i.e. my appointment as a new minister, can help give new impetus to the negotiations
– The minister said early summer.
“Since Hungary is the last member state of the European Union that does not yet have an agreement with the European Commission on the National Economic Recovery Plan, our aim is to speed up the negotiations as much as possible so that we can sign this agreement by the end of the year,” Tibor Navarakis added.
(Cover photo: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on June 2, 2022. Photo: Mateusz Lodarczyk/NoorPhoto/Getty Images)
