Poland should call time on attempting to negotiate with the European Commission over release of critical EU funding, currently being withheld by Brussels over the bloc’s concerns about the rule of law in the country, a prominent MEP has claimed.
“It is time to end negotiations and give up the National Recovery Plan (KPO) funds,” said Professor Zdzisław Krasnodębski, Law and Justice’s (PiS) MEP, on Warsaw’s Radio WNET.
Krasnodębski said it is likely that even if Poland fulfills current EU requirements, the next demands will soon appear, as EU officials appear hell-bent on interfering with the internal politics of the member states. Krasnodębski also claimed that with the funds comes an increase of EU influence.
“To negotiate effectively, we need to have means of pressure and be brave. Firstly, give up the KPO, make it clear that we will not realize all EU goals,” explained the politician.
According to the MEP, Poland should announce that the transformation will not be as swift as the Commission would want. Krasnodębski said that despite not ever having the funds from the KPO, Poland has managed to develop very smoothly.
“When it comes to declarations, we are very decisive, but when it comes to negotiations, we become concessive,” said the MEP.
“Until this moment, we can say, that unfortunately we have been losing in this field, and my pessimistic diagnosis is confirmed. We need another decisive policy and another way of negotiating with the EU,” he added.
Negotiations of the Polish government with the European Commission regarding the payment of National Recovery Plan Funds (KPO) have been going on indefinitely. The Commission has made Poland’s receipt of EU funding conditional on realizing the so-called milestones. According to the Commission, the funds, in the form of loans and grants, are meant to help member state’s economies recover after the COVID-19 pandemic. Poland is faced with more and more new demands regarding changes in its judiciary system, among others, but the funds have still not been initiated.
For a few days now, we have seen dissent inside the ruling camp in Poland on the KPO policy. United Poland raised this issue, and there is also growing uproar inside Law and Justice. Some politicians have started to openly contest the government’s actions in this regard.
