On Friday 17 June in Luxembourg, the European Finance Ministers approved the €35.4 billion Polish recovery plan (23.9 billion in grants and 11.5 billion in loans) in the framework of the European Recovery Plan Next Generation EU (see EUROPE 12964/23, 12963/3).
Faced with the challenge of inflation, Member States continue to provide targeted aid and coordinate their budgetary policies and, in a new development, they “continue to invest”: in this context, “we have adopted the Polish recovery plan”, said French Minister Bruno Le Maire at the end of the Ecofin Council.
He referred to “a long debate”, with some countries having made “comments, abstentions”. But no “opposition” was expressed, he stressed.
Member States are generally of the opinion that the Polish plan is sound on the issue of climate and digital transitions. The controversy relates to Warsaw’s commitments to the rule of law, with the country-specific recommendations to the Polish authorities in 2019 providing the framework for analysis in this area.
By the end of June, Poland must, among other things, finalise a judicial reform that will replace the disciplinary regime for Polish judges, which the Court has ruled illegal, and allow judges who so wish to have their judgments reviewed by a new independent and impartial court.
This is a prerequisite for the disbursement of a first tranche of financial aid, expected in September. But many in the European Parliament feel that these measures do not go far enough (see EUROPE 12968/16).
“Poland will have to deliver on key commitments before any payment can be made”, insisted EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni.
Four Member States - Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden - issued a statement in which they noted that the independence of the judiciary, as a fundamental value of the EU, is an essential condition for ensuring trust between Member States, particularly in the consumption of the EU budget. They see the Polish plan as the beginning of a process of constructive cooperation with the Polish authorities, while calling on the Commission to ensure that the milestones in the Polish plan are met before making payments.
The four countries also note the conclusions of the July 2020 European Council, according to which a Member State may alert the President of the European Council, if it considers that another country’s national recovery plan is deviating significantly from the benchmarks set, for discussion at a subsequent summit (see EUROPE 12532/2). And they request the European Commission to take action, potentially through the opening of new infringement proceedings, to enforce the rule of law in Poland, including the issue of the National Council of the Judiciary.
See the proposal for an EU Council decision adopting the Polish plan: https://aeur.eu/f/27a
And its annex: https://aeur.eu/f/24q (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)