The EU Commission has formally approved the release of 137 billion euros to Poland that had been frozen over concerns about the rule of law. The government in Warsaw has satisfactorily met important milestones with regard to the independence of the judiciary, the Brussels authority announced on Thursday. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the decision at a press conference in Warsaw on Friday.
The money comes from two sources: around 76.5 billion euros from the EU cohesion budget, which is intended to equalize the living standards of the member states. On the other hand, the Commission would like to release around 60 billion in EU Corona aid that has been blocked for a long time. Of this, 34.5 billion euros will flow in the form of loans and 25.3 billion euros in the form of grants.
The Brussels authorities cannot decide on their own about the release of Corona aid. Member states still have to give the green light. After the change of government in December, Poland received an advance of over five billion euros from the fund that was set up for the recovery of the economy after the corona pandemic.
The EU Commission withheld the money for the country because the previous, long-standing PiS government in Warsaw had undermined the justice system. The EU recently criticized, among other things, a ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court, according to which parts of EU law are not compatible with Poland’s constitution. This decision is seen as highly problematic because it could give Polish politicians an excuse to ignore unfavorable rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The previous national-conservative PiS government in Poland had also implemented highly controversial judicial reforms, which, from the perspective of the ECJ, endanger the independence of the judges there.
Poland’s new Prime Minister Donald Tusk now wants to defuse the reforms again with his coalition government. During the election campaign before the change of government, he had already promised his compatriots a rapprochement with Brussels in order to release blocked aid. Last week, Justice Minister Adam Bodnar presented the EU partners with a reform plan for eliminating constitutional deficits.
EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said he welcomed “the Polish government’s determination to strengthen the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.” The Commission’s decisions regarding the funds reflected the positive steps that Poland had taken in this regard.
