We have already lost one advance payment from the KPO. There is a chance for PLN 24 billion. And fast

Poland is the only country, apart from Hungary, that has not yet received money from the EU Reconstruction Fund. Our National Reconstruction Plan required many amendments and in December 2021 the deadline for receiving advance payments from the EU expired. Ours was approved only in June 2022. Within a year and a half of announcing the milestones whose fulfillment was to guarantee the payment of funds from the KPO, the outgoing PiS government has not yet achieved them. However, Poland may receive the first PLN 24 billion from the KPO, excluding milestones –

The first advance payment from KPO may be paid soon. But the government must hurry

According to the portal’s journalists, he learned from Ursula von der Leyen at a meeting on Wednesday, October 25, that Poland could count on the first funds from the KPO. PLN 24 billion would go to Poland from the new chapter of the KPO, the so-called REPowerEU. Some time ago, the European Commission allowed the revision of the Reconstruction Plans and as part of it, Poland is applying for an additional EUR 25.75 billion. 20 percent this amount may be transferred to Poland in the form of an advance payment if and then the EU Council approves the revised KPO by the end of 2023. Poland can therefore receive PLN 24 billion, but although it does not require the implementation of milestones, the government must improve the KPO.

Oko.Press obtained a document which shows that the European Commission has reservations about such things as:

• delays and curtailment of reforms;
• inaccurate cost estimates;
• willingness to transfer funds to dedicated funds instead of to the final beneficiaries in order to complete the KPO implementation on time;
• lack of sufficient justification for the requested amounts;
• applying for funding for previously existing projects or investments.

What’s worse, most of the complaints concern the REPowerEU chapter, from which we can receive advance payments. According to the EC, “the plan is too ambitious” and, consequently, does not allow for the achievement of its goals, i.e. accelerating the abandonment of fossil fuels and faster implementation of renewable energy. The proposed reforms are not supported by milestones, their descriptions are too general, and the value of the requested funds is not sufficiently justified in many places.

The government must quickly introduce amendments to the NWP

The new one will have a lot of work and little time for corrections. The whole thing will be even more delayed if Andrzej Duda does not immediately entrust the mission of forming a government to the current opposition and starts with PiS, which obtained the highest result in the elections but does not have a parliamentary majority. This would mean that Poland may miss out on another round of advance payments. The current opposition has been given arguments that may convince it not to delay and to entrust them with the mission of forming a government right away.