Brussels’ decision to grant Poland 5 billion euros in advances from the KPO does not mean that the entire plan, which depends on the implementation of milestones, has been unlocked.
The European Commission has given the green light to pay Poland around 5 billion euros in advances from the REPowerEU (clean energy investments) plan, which is part of the EU recovery fund. Poland applied for additional loans worth 23 billion euros on March 31, and another 2.76 billion euros in REPowerEU grants were programmed in the amended FPA, which was sent to the European Commission on August 31.
“Rzeczpospolita” points out that the request for additional funds was submitted by the government of Mateusz Morawiecki and that it was his cabinet officials who negotiated the provisions of the revised plan with Brussels. “However, the entire Polish KPO is still blocked due to the inability to complete three so-called super milestones related to the audit system of projects financed by the KPO and the reform of the disciplinary system of judges,” we read in the newspaper.
The European Commission has granted Poland money for a specific purpose
The 5 billion euros allocated to Poland cannot be allocated to any investments, but only to those they support independence energy from Russia and implementation of the tasks of green transformation. Non-repayable subsidies amount to about 0.5 billion euros, the rest are preferential loans – emphasizes “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”.
He adds that the issue of the KPO’s first advances will soon become the subject of a political dispute. On the one hand, the Civic Coalition will want to take advantage of the situation by pointing out that this is the first success after the elections, which proves that Brussels changes his attitude towards Poland.
– We will emphasize that this is partly the result of Donald Tusk’s last visit to Brussels – an interlocutor of KO told “DGP”. According to a PiS interlocutor, this is in turn evidence that “Brussels’ political plan is being implemented, which assumed that the KPO money would only be released after the current opposition won the elections.”
Tusk’s visit to Brussels. Does he get money from the KPO or not?
Dziennik estimates that on the one hand, the visit of Tusk, who did not yet go to Brussels as Prime Minister, could have improved the climate for discussions with the EC, but on the other hand, the KPO advances would have been unblocked even without this, because the money is paid unconditionally and automatically.
“For the same reasons, PiS cannot claim that this is part of a political plan, because these funds should also flow if the United Right were to win the elections on October 15,” the article reads.
Tusk commented on Brussels’ decision on Tuesday during a press conference in the Sejm. – I am sure that the unblocking (KPO – ed.) will become a fact. And before Christmas Eve I can say that we have a nice, serious gift for the Poles. That is tens of billions of euros that should work for all of us, according to the PO chairman.
Grzegorz Puda, the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, quoted by “DGP”, emphasized that the European Commission’s positive assessment of Poland’s application for additional loans is the result of “many months” of work by his ministry.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
