Polish opposition could unlock EU recovery cash if in power

If Poland’s opposition parties unite to form the strongest coalition after their strong joint showing in the elections, they would be working towards reconciliation with the EU after Poland’s PiS triggered a long tug-of-war with the Commission.

Unlike most EU countries, Poland still has not received a single euro from the Recovery and Resilience Facility following the Commission’s freeze because of the rule of law – a situation that the opposition parties, which together won the most votes in the parliamentary elections, say they’d like to change if they come to power.

However, Sunday’s results show that the opposition still has a significant chance of forming a government and ousting the current conservative Law and Justice (PiS) cabinet, known for its frosty relations with the European Commission and some Western European states.

“The day after the elections, I will go (to Brussels) and release the bailout money, and we will all feel it,” Donald Tusk, former European Council president and current leader of the main opposition Civic Platform (PO) party, promised at a rally in August.

While he did not deliver that promise, PO MP Aleksander Miszalski told public broadcaster TVP Info that “the day after the elections” was a metaphor and called it “ridiculous” that anybody could have taken Tusk’s words literally.

“You need at least a government and a majority in the Sejm to pass appropriate laws and submit appropriate applications,” he said.

Another KO MP, Katarzyna Lubnauer, confirmed that Tusk’s announcement should be treated as a metaphor. Interviewed by private Radio ZET, she insisted that only after Duda appoints the new prime minister, any declarations would be possible.

“It was clearly an imprecise statement because money cannot be launched in one day,” said Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, elected MP from the list of the Third Road, PO’s likely coalition partner if the current opposition was to form a government.

The main reason why the European Commission continues to freeze recovery and resilience funds is the controversial judicial reforms adopted by the PiS, which the EU Court of Justice has said undermines judicial independence.

To receive the first tranche of funds, Warsaw had to meet milestones agreed with the Commission, the fulfilment of which should have convinced the EU executive that the rule of law in Poland, and thus the EU’s budgetary interests, were no longer at risk.

By the time of the elections, the recovery money had become a sticking point in the country, as the PiS had failed to reach an agreement with the Commission on the issue, despite it being one of the opposition’s main arguments against the ruling camp during the election campaign.

At stake is €58 billion, to be allocated to Poland in the form of grants and soft loans.

Reforms required for Poland to get the money

There is a chance to unlock the money for Poland’s recovery, Didier Reynders, EU commissioner for Justice, told the Financial Times.

If Poland will soon return to truly respecting the rule of law and the judiciary, it will then be possible to release the recovery money, the commissioner said.

For that, concrete steps are needed, though. The EU observes not only parties’ political programmes or election results but mostly the reforms, Reynders said, adding that the Commission can react only when real reforms are delivered.

For Poland to receive the money, a new Supreme Court law is urgently needed, Bartoszewski said. It might even be the first bill adopted by the new parliament, he stressed.

“We (the new government) would prepare and pass a bill that would be acceptable to Brussels, and then Brussels would begin sending funds,” he said.

It is possible that Poland will receive the first tranche of RRF funds as soon as this year, according to Bartoszewski.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)