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UPDATE: Poland to get €5 bn in EU aid by year's end, asks for €7 bn in recovery funds

15.12.2023 15:30
Poland will get an advance payment of EUR 5 billion in financial aid from the European Union and has also requested a first payout of EUR 7 billion from the bloc's post-pandemic recovery fund after Brussels agreed to unblock frozen cash in response to the new government's steps to restore the rule of law, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday.
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Image:X/Polish Ministry of EU Funds and Regional Policy

He announced the news after a meeting with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who said that Brussels would "transfer to Poland EUR 5 billion in pre-financing before the end of the year." 

Frozen EU funds 'have been unblocked at last': Polish PM

Tusk, who was taking part in a summit of EU leaders in the Belgian capital, wrote on the X platform that frozen EU funds "have been unblocked at last" for Poland.

The Polish prime minister added that the EU would release "PLN 22 billion (EUR 5 billion) by the end of this year" and that a "request has been made for a further PLN 30 billion (EUR 7 billion)."

He also announced that further transfers would be made, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

EU to release funds 'in exchange for concrete reforms': gov't minister

Poland's minister for EU funds and regional policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, announced on the X platform that the government had "applied for EUR 6.9 billion in EU recovery funds" for the country. 

This tranche will comprise around EUR 2.8 in grants and EUR 4.2 billion in loans, officials said.

Pełczyńska-Nałęcz added that funds would be released "in exchange for concrete reforms" and finance projects that "will impact the lives of everyone."

Measures to be funded by EU cash include incentives for businesses and assistance to medical students, according to the ministry for EU funds and regional policy.

Brussels is expected to transfer the EUR 6.9 billion tranche in April, reporters were told. 

EU recovery funds for Poland

Poland is entitled to EUR 59.8 billion from the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund, including EUR 34.5 billion in loans and EUR 25.3 billion in grants, according to officials. 

The funds have been withheld due to a dispute between Warsaw and Brussels over the rule of law, including judicial independence, under Poland's previous conservative government, the PAP news agency reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, gov.pl