Eurosceptic coalition party describes EU grants as "hyper-lie"

Politicians of Solidary Poland (SP), a junior member of the country's ruling United Right Coalition, have said describing EUR 23 billion in post-pandemic EU recovery funding as a free gift is "the hyper-lie of the 21st century."

Poland is due to get EUR 23.9 billion in grants and EUR 11.5 billion in cheap loans from the EU's post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility.

But the European Commission (EC) has blocked Poland's access to the funding due to a rule-of-law dispute, despite the fact that the Commission has approved Poland's National Recovery Plan (KPO).

The KPO outlines how the Polish government will spend the money.

In a bid to get access to the funds, MPs of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party have tabled a bill in the Sejm (lower house of parliament) amending the law on the Supreme Court with a view to satisfying one of the rule-of-law "milestones" set by the EC.

The bill, however, has been opposed by Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, leader of Solidary Poland, exacerbating a rift in the coalition between PiS and its smaller ally.

On Thursday, two Solidary Poland MPs, Michał Wójcik, a minister in the Prime Minister's Office and SP deputy leader, and Janusz Kowalski, a deputy agriculture minister, raised the costs of the KPO at a press conference. Wójcik expressed satisfaction at ongoing discussions about the plan, saying, "We as Solidary Poland have strived for this for many months."

He went on to say that media reports about the milestones were misleading.

"They show a false narrative, as if the EC had contested Zbigniew Ziobro's reforms and that that had caused problems," Wójcik said. "They are not Zbigniew Ziobro's laws; his law was blocked several years ago. The Ministry of Justice did not prepare the law on changes to the Supreme Court."

Wójcik added that the media had also misrepresented the KPO.

"The grant part of the KPO, or about PLN 107 billion, is a loan, not free money... that is a manipulation," he said, going on to say that descriptions of the funds as being a free EU gift were "the hyper-lie of the 21st century."

He said that during the bloc's German presidency, "a whole construction was prepared which today is causing far-reaching consequences.

"The EU is an organism that doesn't have its own money," he said, adding that the funds to be paid out of the KPO would be covered from other sources. "It is a loan which has the characteristics of usury."

Wójcik explained that in line with the conclusions of a 2020 European Council, Poland's EU membership dues had been increased and that by 2058 Warsaw would pay EUR 19.5 billion (over PLN 90 billion) in membership fees and that other sources of income for Brussels included taxes, such as one on plastics. He said experts had put Poland's costs from the tax by 2058 at as much as PLN 40 billion (EUR 8.54 billion).

"A third element is 25 percent from the ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme - PAP), which will come out of the state budget," he explained.

Janusz Kowalski said that during talks last week on the Supreme Court bill between the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, and SP representatives, Morawiecki had given his assurance that he would veto EC plans to raise Poland's membership dues by EUR 1.4 billion, to pay off some of the KPO funding.

Both SP politicians welcomed Morawiecki's statement, with Kowalski saying his party did not agree with "further billions of zloty from the Polish budget going to de facto financing of other member states' KPOs."

He said the EC proposals together with raised membership fees would result in Poland paying back "at least PLN 300 billion (EUR 63.97 billion) by 2058."