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Freezing EU recovery funds would violate rule of law: Polish deputy FM

29.09.2021 12:00
A Polish deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday that officials in Brussels could not suspend the European Union's post-pandemic recovery funds for his country because there were no legal grounds for such a move.
Marcin Przydacz
Marcin Przydacz Marcin Dławichowski/IAR

Speaking in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio, Marcin Przydacz said that neither the EU nor its executive arm, the European Commission, "have voiced any policy objections" to Poland's National Recovery Plan.

"And so there is no legal basis for freezing anything," he added.

The acceptance of the national document is necessary for Warsaw to be able to receive money from the bloc's post-pandemic recovery package, dubbed "Next Generation EU."

If the funds were indeed suspended, "it would mean the EU does not fully abide with the rule of law, because political criteria decide which member state is entitled to participate in a given policy," Przydacz told Polish Radio.

The European Commission's spokeswoman Dana Spinant told reporters on Monday that Brussels was still locked in talks with Warsaw over its approval for Poland's recovery plan.

Earlier this month, the EU's Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said the same to lawmakers in the European Parliament, adding that Poland had to accept certain "requirements" and "recommendations" and also the primacy of EU law, Poland's PAP news agency reported.

Otherwise there could be "consequences" for Poland's National Recovery Plan, he said at the time, as quoted by the Polish state news agency.

Meanwhile, Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller voiced hope on Tuesday that the document would be approved "very soon" as "there are no formal grounds to block it."

He added the Polish government had not decided to lodge a complaint against the European Commission with the EU's Court of Justice (CJEU).

Under the EU's recovery package, Poland stands to receive some EUR 57 billion for post-pandemic recovery, Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP