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/ Illustrative photo / Pexels
The National Reconstruction Plans submitted by six Member States are being assessed by the European Commission. Apart from Poland, the documents submitted by: Hungary, Romania, Finland, Malta, Estonia and Sweden are also assessed – our journalist Katarzyna Szymanska-Borginon concluded. The EC has not yet received the KPO from the Netherlands or Bulgaria.
If the Polish authorities presented a well-prepared plan in early May, it would Poland could be among the 12 best prepared countries with a chance of getting money this month . Countries whose plans have already been approved will receive advances of 13%. the entire sum reserved for them from the Pandemic Reconstruction Fund.
However, the Polish authorities themselves asked for a month to delay, so everything was delayed from the beginning. Additionally, it must be remembered that the plan approved by the European Commission has yet to be approved by the EU Council, which has a month to do so. In this way, the entire procedure in the case of Poland is shifted to the end of August and the beginning of September. Which would mean that the first advances of the European Commission may be paid out to Poland in September, and maybe even in October. It is several billion euros. Polish entrepreneurs whose companies suffered from the pandemic are counting on this money.
DON’T MISS: Poland wants the European Commission to assess the KPO more slowly. We can get the money later
The European Commission is clearly withholding the decision to accept the Polish KPO. The Polish authorities counted – and Katarzyna Szymańska-Borginion’s interlocutors say that it was already pre-agreed – that the Plan will be approved these days, and it will certainly be in July. I was officially informed about this date by, for example, the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. However, now the spokesman of the European Commission reminds us of the Polish request to extend the deadline for the assessment. It can even lengthen it, as can be seen from the example of Hungary.
The problem is that only Poland and Hungary are faced with issues related to the rule of law and related issues of controlling the spending of EU taxpayers’ money. Brussels reiterates that it must have guarantees that the interests of companies will be equally protected in all countries. Poland is challenging this principle by ignoring the decisions of the CJEU. Although the European Commission assures that these are different issues, it is impossible to separate them politically.
ALSO CHECK: The first EU funds for post-pandemic recovery in July. Not for Poland yet Poland refused to participate in this body, which is now an argument for the European Commission to look more closely at Polish guarantees of fair spending . While Poland has no problem with fraud – unlike Hungary – due to violations of the rule of law, it is more and more often mentioned with them in the same group. The Polish authorities themselves gave the argument to the European Commission.
Other countries have more technical problems with their KPOs. The Netherlands, in turn, was not a supporter of the Reconstruction Fund from the beginning, so it is not known whether it will use its resources.
Bulgaria is simply lagging behind and cannot prepare an adequate reform and investment plan.
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