The money from the structural funds should flow in late March or early April, if everything goes according to plan, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, said on Saturday. The first payment claim amounted to 6.9 billion euros, she added.
There is a green light for us to finally submit documents on the Structural Funds – this is technically called self-evaluation. These documents will be processed at the European Commission, these documents will be processed and after processing permission will be given for submitting financing applications. It will take another 2-3 months plus another 1.5 months, but this permission is absolutely crucial
– Minister Pełczyńska-Nałęcz said this on Saturday on TVN 24, in response to a question about European Union structural funds.
She added that the authorization was the result of meetings she held at the European Commission, as well as previous visits by government representatives to Brussels.
We have already sent the self-evaluation, we have been waiting for it for a long time, we are at the beginning of the fourth year of the financial perspectives
– said the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy.
She explained that Poland has received an advance payment for structural projects that are already “prepared and contracted.”
Being able to submit an application for project refinancing is absolutely crucial
– said Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.
I applied for the first payment in mid-December. The normal process takes about 3 months, so if everything goes according to this process, the money should be flowing in late March or early April. This involved a request of 6.9 billion euros
– she added.
The Minister of Funds and Regional Policy also answered questions about the National Reconstruction Plan. She stated that the European Commission expected “a very specific plan to implement those aspects of achieving the rule of law related to the KPO.”
Such a plan, developed by the Ministry of Justice, has been sent and there are legal issues, but there are also issues that do not require legal resolution, which are also very important, such as a review of all matters related to immunity, such as restoring greater rights to judicial self-government so that court presidents can be appointed. These are matters that are regulated by decisions and regulations of the minister and everything will be implemented
– said Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.
Presidential veto
The minister was asked how the European Commission would react if the laws adopted by the governing coalition – which relate to the legal system – were vetoed by President Andrzej Duda and therefore did not enter into force.
It is not the case that laws alone prove that rule of law issues are making progress in Poland
– she emphasized.
Specific explanations will be needed. A statement on an important issue, made at the highest level, is not just a political gesture. In addition, there are things that can be done without legislation, regulations and action by the minister. Yes, there are draft laws, which will be submitted to the Sejm and certainly adopted by the parliamentary majority, but ultimately there is the signature of the president. Will it be so or will it not be so? I still count on dialogue. In my opinion, the EC is taking the whole situation into account
– she added.
She emphasized that the EC sees that “there are declarations, that there is no chilling effect on judges, that there are no political disciplines, that decisions are made through regulations, that there are laws that reach the end of the legislative process and that there is no signature for political reasons alone.”
There are things that both parties are not allowed to say in such formal conversations
– adds Pełczyńska-Nałęcz in response to the question whether she has heard the statement that the European Commission is looking for instruments to “overcome the president’s veto”.
I can share my personal feeling and understanding of this process, and it is that if there is political will, and it is and will be enforced in all areas, to the extent that the democratically elected majority can do so, it will be understood and well received . in the Commission with a positive decision
– she said.
Justice Minister Adam Bodnar spoke on Friday with EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, who is visiting Warsaw. Bodnar emphasized after the meeting that he was happy to be able to talk ‘about the obligations arising from art. 7 of the EU Treaty”, i.e. “a political procedure involving continuous surveillance of Poland in the context of its failure to meet the rule of law standards.” He pointed out that “one of the elements of this recovery will also be the separation between the offices of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.” That day, the Ministry of Justice presented the principles for the amendment of the Law on the Public Prosecution Service, which provides for this and other changes. Another project that has already been published is an amendment to the law on the National Council for the Judiciary, which provides, among other things: to amend the provisions regarding the election of judges-members of the National Council for the Judiciary.
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Source: wPolityce