European Commission to release frozen €137bn for Poland

The EU executive will unlock a total €137 billion in recovery and cohesion funds for Poland, which had been frozen due to concerns about the rule of law, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday (23 February) in Warsaw.

The announcement confirmed an earlier report by Euractiv, as the decision to visit Warsaw together with the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo as the head of the Council of the EU Presidency suggested the decision may come.

“Next week the College (of Commissioners) will come forward with two decisions for European funds that are currently blocked for Poland,” von der Leyen said on Friday, speaking alongside De Croo and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in reference to the formal announcement of the funds’ release.

She clarified that the Commission will free up to €137 billion for Poland from the COVID-19 recovery fund and the cohesion fund.

“This is great news for the Polish people and for Europe, and this is your achievement,” she said, addressing Tusk and his government.

Warsaw applied for the payments in December, days after the change of government in the country, and the deadline for the Commission to respond was the end of February.

Restoring the rule of law

Money for Poland from the EU’s Next Generation Fund, aimed at economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Cohesion Fund have so far been frozen by the Commission over concerns about the rule of law in the country.

The concerns mainly related to the previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS, ECR) government’s judicial reforms, which both the Commission and the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) found undermined the independence of the judiciary in Poland.

During its eight years in power, the PiS government made a number of changes to the judicial system that it claimed would improve its functioning, but which, according to the ECJ rulings, made the judiciary dependent on the ruling camp.

To release the funds, the Commission set a series of milestones for Poland to meet. These mainly included reforms to restore the independence of the judiciary, including a fair system for disciplining judges.

Although the PiS cabinet amended some laws, it was not able to convince the Commission that the milestones had been met to a sufficient degree for payments to start.

Restoring the rule of law after PiS’ rules was Donald Tusk’s principal promise in last October’s election, which saw PiS losing power to the Tusk-led pro-EU coalition.

Since taking office in December, Tusk’s government has worked to meet the Commission’s milestones and release the EU money.

“These are momentous times in Poland for the promotion of the democratic values,” von der Leyen said, praising the efforts of the government and the Polish people “to restore the rule of law as the backbone of (Polish) society.”

“Together we will protect the rule of law all over Europe, because all these are essential conditions for the citizens to feel free and to feel safe,” she added.

Huge effort

The Commission president welcomed the action plan presented by Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar to the Council of the EU earlier this week, calling it “a powerful statement and clear roadmap for Poland” in its reforms aimed at strengthening the democratic order in the country.

Bodnar’s plan includes nine bills aimed at restoring the independence of the judiciary in Poland. They will cover the common courts, the constitutional tribunal and the prosecutor’s office.

The Polish prime minister thanked von der Leyen for working with him “to restore the rule of law and democracy in Poland”.

“We got what we wanted and this is a very crucial day for us, because we have done a lot, a huge effort has been made,” he said during the joint conference, commenting on the reforms his government started to introduce after coming to power in December.

Tusk insisted that the Polish people had shown their commitment to the rule of law and democratic order in last October’s national elections, which saw the PiS government lose power to the pro-EU coalition led by Tusk, despite actually winning the largest number of votes.

The news of the launch of EU funds for Poland was also welcomed by Alexander de Croo, who praised Warsaw’s efforts to restore the rule of law in the country. He congratulated Tusk and wished his government good luck with further reforms.

“Poland stands as a cornerstone of the European Union. You are a key partner for Belgium and for the European Union with your vibrant economy and your strong commitment to all of the European values,” the Belgian prime minister said during the conference in Warsaw.

The overall allocation for Poland under the Recovery and Resilience Facility is €59.8 billion, including €25.3 billion in grants and €34.5 billion in loans.

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]