Poland must meet conditions to get access to recovery funds says EC VP

Poland will fail to gain access to EUR 34.5 billion in post-pandemic funding unless it meets rule-of-law conditions, Frans Timmermans, the vice president of the European Commission (EC), said on Monday.

Brussels has frozen Warsaw out of the funding because the Polish government, it argues, has failed to withdraw or alter a series of changes to the country's judicial system the EU feels threaten the rule of law in Poland.

The conditions, or milestones, relate to a number of steps the EC says the Polish government has to take to reaffirm the rule of law.

The Polish government has said it has already taken sufficient steps, and accused the EC of blocking Poland's accesses to the funding for political reasons.

Speaking at a press conference in the southern city of Chorzów, Timmermans said the EC is open to dialogue with Poland, adding that he believes in a positive outcome of this dialogue.

But, Timmermans added, there are some minimum conditions to be met and clearly defined milestones to be hit by Poland for the funds from the bloc's post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility to be launched.

He explained that the minimum requirements for Poland include compliance with the rule of law and implementing the judgments of the European Court of Justice.

Timmermans said that a large component of the Recovery Fund resources are for energy transformation, and the European Commission is keen to implement them quickly.

However, he added, since Poland is in the European Union, it must respect the rulings of the highest legal institutions in the European Union.

One of the conditions set for Poland by the EC was the liquidation of a disciplinary chamber for judges at the Polish Supreme Court. In May, Poland adopted new legislation abolishing the panel, but in July a new body was set up at the Supreme Court called the Chamber of Professional Responsibility, whose judges are appointed by the president.

Doubts as to whether the new chamber meets the rule-of-law milestones have been expressed recently by some representatives of the EC. Brussels would like to see further steps taken including the reinstatement of judges removed from adjudication by the original disciplinary chamber.

The EC is also concerned that the new chamber may be just another "politically controlled" institution, similar to the body liquidated in May.

Last Friday, the EC adopted so-called operational arrangements related to Poland's National Recovery Plan, which outlines how the Polish government will spend the money. But these arrangements also set out the evidence needed to prove the milestones have been achieved.