Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, said on Monday that the final elements of an agreement with the European Commission on Poland’s National Recovery Plan (NRP) will soon be in place.
The plan outlines how Poland plans to spend millions of euros in funding it can get as part of a post-pandemic EU recovery fund.
But so far the European Commission has refused to approve the plan leading to delays in getting the funding.
The failure to approve the plan is linked, apparently, to the Polish government’s refusal to adhere to a European court order to wind up the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court.
The court found that the chamber lacked sufficient political independence. The government has indicated that it will abide to its ruling but Solidary Poland, a junior partner in Poland’s governing United Right coalition, has demanded that the government retains the chamber.
During a visit to a village in southern Poland, Morawiecki was asked how talks with Solidary Poland on the liquidation of the chamber were going, and when Poland will receive National Recovery Plan funds.
Morawiecki replied that “talks are at an advanced stage – both in terms of our coalition and with the European Commission.”
“Although I believe that we will indeed soon complete the last elements of the agreement with the European Commission, then not only everyone within the United Right, but also everyone in the Sejm will be subjected to a certain test,” said Morawiecki.
He pointed out that “on the one hand, we have funds that will allow us to develop better, funds for investments, funds from the National Recovery Plan, funds that will reduce inflation, funds that will allow for better, faster economic development – things we need so much today in this era of crisis, and on the other hand we have further turmoil around this topic.”
“I hope that the opposition will also behave responsibly here, and not – as it was a year ago – procrastinating, some abstained from voting, did not vote for the National Recovery Plan,” continued Morawiecki. “Law and Justice has developed the best model for the adoption of the NRP, both in terms of content and technology, in terms of projects, and we have developed a balanced approach in the context of the European Union,” he added.
Poland presented its NRP to the European Commission last year and would like to get EUR 23.9 billion in grants and EUR 11.5 billion in loans.
It is still unknown when the commission will end its work and the draft will be returned to the plenary session of the Sejm.