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Polish PM pledges ‘zero tolerance’ for misuse of EU recovery cash

08.08.2025 14:45
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday vowed to claw back any unjustified spending from the country’s EUR 59 billion post-pandemic recovery plan after media reports said some grants financed company yachts, furniture upgrades and a virtual shooting range.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.Photo: PAP/Piotr Matusewicz

The onet.pl news outlet reported on Friday that the government published an interactive map showing hospitality firms that allegedly diverted cash from the National Recovery Plan (KPO) to non-innovative purchases.

The disputed outlays fall under a scheme run by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) for the HoReCa sector, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy Funds Minister Jan Szyszko said warnings reached his ministry “a few weeks ago,"

He called the spending “fund-smart opportunism” but noted that it involves less than 0.6 percent of the entire program.

PARP chose five regional operators to pick final beneficiaries; all will now face audits “to check every zloty,” he added.

PARP’s previous head, Katarzyna Duber-Stachurska, was dismissed at the end of July.

Tusk told supporters in the seaside town of Łeba he had discussed the matter en route with Funds Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.

“I will not accept any waste of KPO money,” he said. “Where spending lacks merit, I expect swift action, including reclaiming funds. Zero tolerance.”

Pełczyńska-Nałęcz wrote on X that 824,000 contracts have been signed under the plan, and misfires are inevitable at that scale. She ordered the PARP probe and said suspect deals will be fixed or canceled “immediately.”

Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski told reporters that any errors would be “quickly curtailed and punished,” adding that lawful KPO spending is already “turbocharging” Poland’s economy.

(jh)

Source: PAP