Poland’s new EU minister has said his main goal is to get the bloc to “fulfil” its obligations and release funding the government claims it is owed.
Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek, who took over as Europe minister from Konrad Szymanski on Thursday, was referring to money earmarked for Poland from a post-pandemic EU recovery fund.
The money would fund initiatives outlined in Poland’s National Recovery Plan, a document which outlines just how the funding would be used.
Brussels has so far blocked the release of the funding because it believes Poland has failed to meet certain conditions it has set on the rule of law.
But the Polish government maintains it has met all the conditions following the adoption of an amendment to laws governing the Supreme Court and therefore is entitled to the money.
“My goal today is for European institutions to finally start fulfilling their obligations. I mean payments into the National Recovery Plan,” Szynkowski vel Sek said in a radio interview.
He claimed that Poland was fully eligible for the funding, and vowed to “find out why these treaty obligations are not being met by the EU side.”
He added that a recent presidential amendment to Supreme Court laws met all the EU’s requirements in the matter.
Szynkowski vel Sek said he planned to discuss the matter with other EU members, especially Germany, which “has a lot of influence on EU decisions.”