Brussels has formally approved the unblocking of EU funds for Poland, paving the way for payments of more than €136 billion in the period until 2027 following the country's efforts to respect the rule of law, AFP reports.
The unblocking, which puts an end to years of struggles between Brussels and Warsaw, was announced last week by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a visit to Poland.
Many EU funds earmarked for Poland were blocked by the Commission in response to controversial judicial reforms carried out by the previous government of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, which was ousted from power in parliamentary elections last October. They were accused, in particular, of undermining the independence of judges.
On 20 February, Donald Tusk's government presented an action plan to bring Poland into line with European judicial standards.
The Commission has approved the disbursement of the first tranche of €6.3 billion under the post-Covid-19 recovery plan, of a total that could reach €59.8 billion in loans and grants by 2027 if Poland meets all the requirements in terms of reforms and investment.
Poland has met the conditions related to the "disciplinary regime for judges" and "has satisfactorily implemented the strengthening of audit and control systems", spokeswoman Veerle Nuyts told a daily briefing.
"As a consequence of the reforms undertaken by Poland, the Commission also considers that Poland fulfils the conditions related to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which will allow it to access €76.5 billion for the cohesion policy programmes for the period 2021-2027, the European fisheries and agriculture programmes and the home affairs funding programme," spokesman Stefan de Keersmaeker said. / BGNES
