The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo were on a one-day visit to Poland on Friday. The head of the Commission and the Belgian Prime Minister talked to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Ursula von der Leyen announced the decision to unblock funds for Poland during the joint statement to the media with Prime Minister Tusk and the Belgian Prime Minister.

‘These decisions will free up to €137 billion for Poland. The money comes from the Recovery Fund and Cohesion Policy funds. This will be guaranteed through the office of the European Public Prosecutor. This is great news for Europe and Poland,’

said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

‘This is the result of very hard, intensive work by the entire government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the Minister of Justice, as well as the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. This is also the result of the hard, intensive work of officials who negotiated very difficult documents and contentious issues with the European Commission so the this money could be received by Poles as soon as possible and so that we could invest resources from the NRP and European Funds in Poland as soon as possible,’

said Deputy Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Jan Szyszko, at a press conference at the MDFRP.

Deputy Minister Jan Szyszko stressed that the Polish government would have to work hard and its result is to guarantee equal opportunities for development in Poland.

‘Today, the postcode under which we live matters too much and has too great an impact on quality of life. The aim of the investment from the National Recovery Plan and the European Funds is that the postcode should simply be a postcode. So that opportunities are equal for all residents of Poland regardless of whether they live in a large city, a small town or rural area. This is what we will strive for over the coming years,’

said the deputy MDFRP minister.

Record funding for Poland from Cohesion Policy

Poland will receive more than PLN 340 billion (€76 billion) from the Cohesion Policy for 2021-2027. It is the largest cohesion policy budget among the European Union countries. The funds were split between national and regional programmes.

The money will be used to equalise development opportunities between Poland and other EU states, as well as for the development of all regions of our country.

Around PLN 150 billion (EUR 33.5 billion) will go to local authorities, which is a record financial injection to support investment in Polish regions.

The money will provide an additional boost to the socio-economic development of the regions. It will revitalise the country’s balanced territorial development. It will support the development of entrepreneurship in Poland, the labour market, research and environmental protection, and will improve transport accessibility. 

On 17 December of this year, Poland has sent a motion to the European Commission concerning the fulfilment of the condition related to the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the fulfilment of which enables the reimbursement of expenditure under all objectives and programmes covered by the Partnership Agreement (EUR 76 billion). A positive assessment by the EC (an official decision on the matter is expected towards the end of February this year) will enable the reimbursement from the EU budget of expenditure incurred by Poland in programmes implemented between 2021 and 2027.

First payment from NRP

Poland has sent its first request for payment from the National Recovery Plan to the European Commission in mid-December 2023. Formal approval from the European Commission needed to unblock the first payment will be issued next week. It will then take about one month for the Commission’s committees to give their opinion on the decision. This means that disbursement of the first NRP payment claim can be expected in April 2024.

Our country will receive almost EUR 6.3 billion (over PLN 31 billion) under the first payment request, including almost EUR 2.7 billion of the grant part and EUR 3.6 billion of the loan.

The funds from the first payment request from the NRP will be used for the following investments among other things:

• Clean air – subsidising the thermal efficiency improvement of single-family residential buildings, replacing old heat sources with new ones;
• improving rail transport safety – including upgrading level crossings;
• vouchers for laptops for teachers;
• investment in transport safety – e.g. modernisation of dangerous points, construction of bypasses and installation of traffic surveillance equipment;
• digitisation of transport – introduction of modern digital solutions (e.g. ERTMS, remote control, traffic management systems).
• equipment and modernisation of infrastructure in the agri-food sector;
• support for the vocational training system;
• funding for childcare for children up to the age of three – day care and children’s clubs;
• superfast broadband access in ‘dead zones’.

NRP for Poland

The National Recovery Plan for Poland covers 55 investments and 55 reforms. Their aim is to strengthen the Polish economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, steer it in a new direction and make it more resilient to any crisis.

We are going to receive EUR 59.8 billion (PLN 268 billion) under the NRP, including EUR 25.27 billion (PLN 113.28 billion) in grants and EUR 34.54 billion (PLN 154.81 billion) in preferential loans.

In line with the European Union’s objectives, a significant proportion of the NRP budget will be allocated to climate objectives (46.6 per cent), digital transformation (21.3 per cent), and social reforms (22.3 per cent).
Next year, our country has plans to submit two more requests for NRP funds in each of the two time slots. The second and third requests will be submitted in the first half of 2024 and the fourth and fifth towards the end of the year.

Due to a delay in implementing the NRP, the Polish government is currently working on its revision. A preliminary negotiation package is expected to be ready for public consultation in early March. We plan to formally submit the new version of the NRP to Brussels in April. Poland wants to indicate during the talks with the EC those reforms and investments that can be modified, possibly suggesting the relocation of some funds.