Tusk to use ‘any method’ to unblock EU recovery money

The clock is ticking for Poland to unblock its Recovery and Resilience Facility funds and must use all possible methods – whether standard or not – to do so, Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk told EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Wednesday.

The results of the 15 October general elections were welcomed with enthusiasm in Brussels and many other Western European capitals as chance for Warsaw to return to the EU fold after the eight-year rule of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, known for its tense relationship with the European Commission.

“I am here (today) at the headquarters of the European Commission to speed up the process of returning back to the European stage. We are fully convinced that this is the will of Polish voters,” Tusk told von der Leyen as he visited Brussels on Wednesday.

Despite PiS coming first in the elections, Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO), together with the centrist Third Way alliance and the Left, won more than 54% of the votes and secured a majority of 248 seats in the 460-seat Sejm, the lower house of the parliament.

During the election campaign, Tusk promised to unblock the funds allocated to Poland in the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the release of which the Commission suspended due to its concern over the rule of law in Poland, as well as cohesion funds.

Confirmed as the current opposition’s candidate for prime minister on Tuesday, he set off to Brussels to discuss the issue with the EU institutions and leaders of other member states. In the case of the recovery funds, the stake is €35.4 billion.

Tusk insisted he came to Brussels still as an opposition leader, not as prime minister, but he decided for such a step as the clock is ticking and he found it essential to use all methods, even non-standard ones, “to save the money that Poland deserves”.

In order to get the recovery funds released, Poland is required to fulfil a series of milestones, mostly related to judicial independence. So far, the Commission has not considered Warsaw’s progress in delivering the milestones sufficient to disburse the money.

Unblocking the recovery funds is impossible for the very moment, but Tusk’s meetings in Brussels may “shorten the process of clarifying the issue,” Artur Nowak-Far, professor at Warsaw School of Economics, told Euractiv.pl.

This includes assurances that the parties that declared their will to form a government view the issue of the recovery money in the same way, as well as a warning the EU of “potential problems,” he explained. If Tusk does it now, he will not have to do it later as the prime minister, he added.

Tusk’s meeting with von der Leyen also focused on Russia’s war on Ukraine, security and defence, competitiveness, the green transition and democratic values. “I know that Donald Tusk and I will find a lot of common ground on all these issues,” von der Leyen said.

Meanwhile, President Andrzej Duda, who is obliged to appoint the next prime minister, concluded his consultations with all the parliamentary parties about the chances to form the government. He is expected to issue a formal announcement summarising the negotiations on Thursday.

[Sonia Otfinowska contributed to reporting]

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)