Poland is on track to get 5.1 billion in EU green transition funds. As part of a European Union initiative to promote a move away from Russian fossil fuels, Poland is expected to receive 5.1 billion euros ($5.56 billion) in advance payments, the bloc’s executive said on Tuesday.
The money would be additional to what Warsaw had initially requested under the bloc’s COVID-19 recovery fund under the REPowerEU plan.
Poland would have received 59.8 billion euros in total. Still, the remaining funds are frozen until Warsaw reverses revisions to the rule of law that critics claim jeopardize the independence of the country’s judicial system. However, no legislative changes are required to pay REPowerEU money in advance.
Concerns about the rule of law have also made it difficult to access the 76.5 billion euros in EU cohesion funding to improve living conditions in underdeveloped areas. The cohesion funds are part of the EU’s seven-year budget and are open for access at any time.
Poland can obtain the pre-financing if the European Council comprises EU member states and approves the Commission’s assessment within four weeks.
Since the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party came to office in 2015, Poland has been embroiled in several disagreements with the European Union over democratic standards.
But in a vote held on October 15, a coalition of parties supporting the European Union secured a majority and appeared poised to seize power. They have pledged to restore ties with Brussels and release the blocked money.
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