Latest news with #NationalRecoveryPlan
Telegraph
11-08-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
EU Covid cash ‘funded yachts, luxury cars and swingers club'
The European Union's post-Covid recovery funds were used to fund yachts, luxury cars and a swingers' club, a report shows. The programme was set up to revive hotels, restaurants and cultural venues that suffered during the pandemic. But in Poland, where the grants totalled around £244m, the beneficiaries included some dubious recipients, including a pizzeria that added tanning beds, and a sex club in the south of the country, Politico reported. The spending was revealed in an interactive online map of grant recipients, released as part of a wider transparency drive by the coalition government led by Donald Tusk, the former president of the European Council. The revelation has been seized upon by Mr Tusk's political opponents in the hard-right Law and Justice (PiS) party, who have sought to position it as a major scandal. 'One of the biggest scandals since 1989,' said Tobiasz Bocheński, a PiS MEP. The party has vowed to carry out parliamentary inspections of the grants and trace every 'link, dependency and decision-making chain'. One restaurant owner in Łódź, central Poland, defended using the money to buy two yachts, claiming it helped him diversify his business in the event of further lockdown restrictions. 'We didn't get this money for vacations,' Grzegorz Urbaniak told claiming that the boats could be used as tourist rentals when restaurants were closed. Meanwhile, the owner of a business registered at the same address as a swingers'club said the money he received paid for metalworking machinery, not sex work. EU cash frozen under previous government The hospitality industry grants were part of £52bn Poland had been due from the EU's National Recovery Plan, which was frozen during PiS's time in power over concerns about how the money would be used. Mr Tusk made unlocking the funding a central part of his campaign when he ran for election in 2023. He has since vowed to rectify any mistakes or abuse that occurred. 'We put too much effort into unlocking these billions to allow anyone to waste them,' he said over the weekend, promising that 'anyone who made mistakes will face consequences, regardless of their position or party affiliation'. Preliminary inquiries have been opened by prosecutors, with initial results from an audit to be released next month.
Euronews
09-08-2025
- Business
- Euronews
EU Commission reacts to Poland's alleged misuse of recovery funds
On Friday, the news website reported that a map appeared on the National Recovery Plan (NRP) website, showing companies that had received subsidies from the European Union. What began as a simple publication online quickly sparked a dispute online, particularly on X, as users began to point out examples of alleged misallocations of EU funds. Politicians and the media subsequently commented on the matter, calling for answers. The expenditures of companies that received EU grants allegedly included company yachts, solariums, furniture, and coffee machines. Poland qualified for almost €60 billion in funding from the EU's Reconstruction and Resilience Fund. Such allocations were aimed at rebuilding member states' economies after the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to receive the funding, each EU country had to submit a National Recovery Plan (NERP) detailing how the funds would be spent to support post-pandemic economies. Under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, Poland's access to funding was blocked by the EU due to a rule-of-law dispute between the bloc and its member state. Unblocking reconstruction funds was a key election promise made by Donald Tusk and his Civic Platform party ahead of the 2023 parliamentary elections. Some €280 million was earmarked for the hospitality sector, which suffered heavy losses due to successive pandemic-related lockdowns. A dedicated website presented requests from businesses in the sector, but this service has since become unavailable. Nevertheless, media reports have emerged detailing how some of the money was spent, including on yachts, saunas, solariums, and furniture. The issue of KPO aid to the hotel and catering industry was addressed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a speech given on Friday. "I will not accept any waste of KPO funds" - said the Prime Minister. Polish president's reaction Numerous politicians, from both the left and the right, quickly reacted to accusations of misallocation of funds, a number of politicians. Among them was the recently-inaugurated president of Poland, Karol Nawrocki. "I am often asked by journalists where we should get the money for [my proposed programs]. Today is a very important day [regarding this matter]. We have found out how the NRP funds have been distributed in Poland. I do not want funds on behalf of 10.5 million Poles spent on saunas, solariums and coffee machines. I want funding for Polish families," Nawrocki said during a speech on Friday. The Regional Public Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw has begun preliminary investigations into media reports of irregularities in the awarding of grants from the NRP. The President of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, Katarzyna Duber-Stachurska, was dismissed after doubts emerged about how EU funds were spent. European Commission intervention European Commission spokesman Maciej Berestecki stressed in an interview with Polish radio station RMF FM that "Poland is obliged to take clarifying action" on the awarding of KPO grants". Poland will now have to submit a payment request in November so that the European Commission can assess the projects' compliance with the NRP criteria. According to the Commission's press service, "It is the duty of Member States to take all appropriate measures to protect the financial interests of the Union." The Commission has the possibility to intervene if the Polish authorities do not react appropriately, above all in situations of fraud. "If we see that this does not work, the European Public Prosecutor's Office and OLAF [the Commission's anti-fraud office] will step in," they explained.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Poland seeks to funnel 6 billion euros in EU funds for defence
WARSAW - Poland is seeking approval to use 26 billion zlotys (6.1 billion euros) in European Union post-COVID recovery funds for investments to boost security and defence, the Development Funds and Regional Policy minister said on Friday. Minister Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz told journalists investments would be possible in three fields: population protection; industrial modernisation, including research and development; and protection of critical infrastructure, including cybersecurity. The EU's recovery facility provides Poland with nearly 60 billion euros ($63.1 billion) in grants and cheap loans to be spent by 2026. "We are the first to introduce such a security and defense fund in the (National Recovery Plan) and I already know that other countries ... are asking how to do it," Pelczynska-Nalecz said. "We have collected preliminary demand from various ministries and we already know that these needs are huge. They are initially placed at around 90 billion zlotys. The fund is for 26 billion zlotys, but this shows what a huge investment need we have here in Poland." Pelczynska-Nalecz had earlier indicated the fund would be worth up to 30 billion zlotys. She said negotiations with Brussels, led jointly by Poland's ministries responsible for defence and EU funds, had started, and that Poland had already secured agreement that investments could be made beyond 2026. "There are still many things that are important to us, first of all the issue of dual-use infrastructure, issues with road infrastructure, which we want to raise assertively and convince in talks with the (European) Commission that these investments are absolutely crucial." She said Poland aimed to end negotiations by May 27 and that the European Commission would have until June 20 to decide on approval. National legislation would need to be adopted by the autumn, she added. Poland already spends a higher proportion of its gross domestic product on defence than any other NATO member, and wants to raise spending to 5% of GDP by next year. ($1 = 3.8714 zlotys)
Reuters
04-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Poland seeks to funnel 6 billion euros in EU funds for defence
WARSAW, April 4 - Poland is seeking approval to use 26 billion zlotys (6.1 billion euros) in European Union post-COVID recovery funds for investments to boost security and defence, the Development Funds and Regional Policy minister said on Friday. Minister Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz told journalists investments would be possible in three fields: population protection; industrial modernisation, including research and development; and protection of critical infrastructure, including cybersecurity. The EU's recovery facility provides Poland with nearly 60 billion euros ($63.1 billion) in grants and cheap loans to be spent by 2026. "We are the first to introduce such a security and defense fund in the (National Recovery Plan) and I already know that other countries ... are asking how to do it," Pelczynska-Nalecz said. "We have collected preliminary demand from various ministries and we already know that these needs are huge. They are initially placed at around 90 billion zlotys. The fund is for 26 billion zlotys, but this shows what a huge investment need we have here in Poland." Pelczynska-Nalecz had earlier indicated the fund would be worth up to 30 billion zlotys. She said negotiations with Brussels, led jointly by Poland's ministries responsible for defence and EU funds, had started, and that Poland had already secured agreement that investments could be made beyond 2026. "There are still many things that are important to us, first of all the issue of dual-use infrastructure, issues with road infrastructure, which we want to raise assertively and convince in talks with the (European) Commission that these investments are absolutely crucial." She said Poland aimed to end negotiations by May 27 and that the European Commission would have until June 20 to decide on approval. National legislation would need to be adopted by the autumn, she added. Poland already spends a higher proportion of its gross domestic product on defence than any other NATO member, and wants to raise spending to 5% of GDP by next year. ($1 = 3.8714 zlotys)
