Solidary Poland to vote against ratification of National Recovery Plan

An MP from Solidary Poland, a junior member of the governing United Right coalition, said on Friday that his party’s would vote against the ratification of the National Recovery Plan.

Sebastian Kaleta said nothing had changed to make the party drop its opposition to the plan, which needs parliamentary ratification for Poland to access billions of euros from the EU's pandemic recovery fund.

Solidary Poland's objection to the plan is at odds with that of Law and Justice, the dominant party in the United Right, and could add further friction to the already abrasive relationship between the two.

In an interview with PAP, Kaleta drew attention to regulations which determine the payment of EU funds (and links their access to the issue of the rule of law), claiming that they this interfered with Poland's sovereignty.

"In addition, the Recovery Fund is a loan that the European Commission takes out on our behalf and then decides how this money is to be spent," said Kaleta. "And we still have to fully repay this loan."

The Sejm (lower house) is set to vote on a bill covering the National recovery Plan on Tuesday, May 4 at an additional meeting. A simple majority will be needed to pass the bill.

On Tuesday, the government adopted a bill on the ratification of the plan despite the objections of Zbigniew Ziobro and Michal Wojcik, Solidary Poland MPs.

Their party opposed the EU budget for 2021-2027 in regard to the Multiannual Financial Framework and the Recovery Fund. According to Solidary Poland, the Recovery Fund "may, in the future, threaten Poland's sovereignty and harm the Polish economy."

In order for the Recovery Fund to be activated, all member states must ratify the decision of EU leaders to increase the EU's financial resources. A failure to ratify it would put a halt to the introduction of funding packages from both the general EU budget for 2021-2027 and from the Recovery Fund.

Poland is to receive a total of PLN 770 billion from the EU budget and the Recovery Plan.

By Friday, April 30, each Member State must submit to the European Commission their own National Recovery Plan which describes how they will allocate the funds from the EU's recovery funding plan.

Government spokesman Piotr Mueller said that the National Recovery Plan will be adopted by the government on Friday.