Tusk vows zero tolerance for misuse of Recovery Plan funds
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said he will not accept any misuse of National Recovery Plan (KPO) funds, following reports that some hospitality and catering businesses spent their grants on items such as yachts, furniture and a virtual shooting range.
Deputy Funds Minister Jan Szyszko announced on Friday that additional inspections would be carried out in the HoReCa SME sector, with preliminary results expected by the end of September. He said the irregularities came to light a few weeks ago and led to the dismissal of the head of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) at the end of July.
Acting PARP head Krzysztof Gulda said inspections were already under way but would be expanded to all partners in the programme. If misuse is confirmed, contracts may be terminated and funds reclaimed.
Tusk said he had spoken to Funds and Regional Policy Minister Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz and expected a full assessment of every zloty spent under the scheme, with swift recovery of unjustified expenditures.
Pelczynska-Nalecz wrote on X on Friday that her ministry was reviewing all questionable contracts, noting that the disputed programme represented only 0.6 percent of the KPO and targeted SMEs hit by COVID-19.
Later on Friday, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw said in a statement that it had launched ex officio verification proceedings following media reports regarding irregularities in the granting of subsidies from the KPO.
On Saturday, an EC spokesman Maciej Berestecki told PAP that Poland had all tools to control and clarify all potential irregularities regarding KPO funds and added that the EC was not planning any intervention at this stage.
He said that the announcement by the Polish prime minister showed that the Polish authorities had vowed to clarify all suspicions and that the EC would make an intervention only if the steps taken by the Polish government proved ineffective.
Berestecki said that since Poland had declared to explain the entire matter, the EC would be waiting for results and added that contacts between the EC and Poland had been held "on a regular basis."
The KPO provides EUR 59.8 billion for Poland, including EUR 25.27 billion in grants and EUR 34.54 billion in preferential loans. Poland has so far received PLN 67 billion (EUR 15.8 bln) from the fund.(PAP)
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