WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s government on Tuesday adopted a revision to its plan on spending European Union recovery funds, changing some of the previous cabinet’s proposals so it can use up most of the money within the available time frame.
Under the National Recovery Plan to help EU countries bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic and with energy transition, Poland gained access to nearly 60 billion euros, made up of 25.3 billion in grants and 34.5 billion in cheap loans.
Rows over the rule of law between the previous nationalist government and Brussels resulted in the funds being frozen. They have been released this year after Donald Tusk’s pro-European government took power, but it now has less time to spend the money.
Changes to the plan affect a quarter of the 55 reforms laid out and nearly half of the investments, and include replacing a planned tax on combustion engine vehicles with subsidies for buying electric cars, as well as allocating additional funds to food security and agriculture, Poland’s development funds ministry said in a press release.
The government will send the revised plan to Brussels, which will have two months for a formal assessment, and expects approval of the modified implementation decision by the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on July 16.
It expects the annexing of financing and loan deals with the European Commision in late July or early August, necessary for Poland to make further payment requests.
Poland plans to submit its second and third request for EU funds at the beginning of September and expects to be reimbursed at the end of 2024, the ministry said in the release.
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Karol Badohal, editing by Ed Osmond)
