Money from subsidies to electricians will go to school. Deputy Minister with the backstage of KPO

Ashley Davis26/05/2025

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Grzegorz Kowalczyk, Business Insider Polska journalist: will we manage to spend money from KPO? Just over a year left.

Jan Szyszko, deputy minister of funds and regional development: if I had a glass ball in front of me and he could foretell it, I might be able to answer with precision. But that I don't have, I will use the data. I will say this: we do everything to make us manage. The effect of these efforts is that the whole pool of funds from the KPO grant part, i.e. over PLN 100 billion, is already in recruitment. This means that we have launched recruitment for all the money, which we received for grants from KPO. In turn, 36-37 percent These are already signed contracts, so we are really in the implementation of over a third. This gives reasons to optimism that we can make it until August 2026, although the schedule is very tight. A year and a half ago, when we took responsibility for the KPO, we were in the last place in the EU at the rate of implementing these funds. At this point we are half the rate, around 15th place. This is a good measure of how much we jumped over the few months.

Is there a chance to extend the deadlines?

We very clearly report the need to extend, but this is very, very doubtful. Theoretically, it could happen in two ways. One is the amendment to the EU regulation, in which these dates are stiffly saved. However, there is no chance, because the so -called Economical countries. We are talking here above all about Denmark, Sweden and Finland, but also about Germany, the Centenary of the Constitutional Tribunal was issued not allowing to change the decision on the length of the KPO. It's disappointing, but we acknowledge it. If you can't, it can't be done. You have to creatively think about what you can do. For example, you can change the interpretation of applicable regulations, which may allow KPO extending by several months. Here the final word lies only on the side of the European Commission. This is not Poland's decision. We need support or a similar perspective of the vast majority of Member States, and above all the European Commission and its officials. I think that the decision in this matter will be made in literally a few months.

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We have contracts for 37 percent grant pool. What about loans?

Here we have less percentage advancement. From the beginning, we said that we would not use all the money within the loan part. Because if there is something that we think it doesn't make sense, we won't spend by force. There are also areas such as an instrument of green city transformation, which turned out to be completely different than it was expected four years ago, when it was set. And suddenly it turns out that instead of pocket money in small towns we will create a security and defense fund from the same money, i.e. workplaces in small cities. This example shows that assessing the advancement of the loan part is more difficult. Especially since investments from the loan part can also be implemented after 2026.

Mr. Resort announced that he had negotiated a departure from the contribution of mandate contracts, and instead the National Labor Inspectorate would be strengthened. However, there is still no bill in this matter.

We kept the word – we actually removed the obligatory contribution of each mandate contract in Poland from the national reconstruction plan. And so – we replace it with the strengthening of the National Labor Inspectorate. It will be a reform that will be in the next revision of the national reconstruction plan. We are talking primarily about administrative activities. The purpose of this is that the interventions of the National Labor Inspectorate should not be undertaken “blindly”, as they are often done now, but they are actually focused on dishonest entities that with a great degree of probability employ employees either illegally, or not on those principles where they should employ. This is the reform, which the entrepreneurs themselves postulated.

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So how will PIP make decisions?

Based on better data. The reform of the National Labor Inspectorate is primarily to consist in the administrative strengthening of this institution. Administrative strengthening is digitization, i.e. the purchase of new equipment, new systems that will allow you to profile inspections based on the data provided by ZUS.

When will these changes be implemented?

I don't want to commit myself to specific dates. This is not a question for me, because I was responsible for negotiations, while the Ministry of Family and Social Policy is responsible for the reform, as well as for the earlier, regarding commission contracts. However, this must happen as part of the National Reconstruction Plan's temporary plan, so that it can be assessed during the KPO period of these works.

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A large part of the KPO is to be released on the healthcare system. But still some of the necessary laws, as the one on the modernization of hospitals, have not been accepted. When can you expect acceleration?

Our predecessors completely gave up legislative changes in healthcare in the field of KPO. Nothing was done. The current ministry has made a huge effort to save this money. There was a very real threat that billions would be lost for this purpose. We launched money for oncology and the purchase of equipment for oncology troops throughout the country and there are subsequent laws and subsequent solutions. In the coming months they will go to the Council of Ministers and this will also easily allow investment obligations.

The European Commission is not impatient when seeing some of the provisions that were still not adopted?

The European Commission is often impatient and often makes various comments. Our task is to talk to the European Commission and assertively report Poland's position taking into account our realities. Further successful searches from the Polish perspective show that this dialogue can be assertively and with respect for the other party, i.e. for the European Commission. Then he is effective.

In autumn we will have a sixth application for KPO withdrawals?

Yes, but first we will first pay for the next billions. I will warn you immediately – too early to say how many of them there will be, but really a lot. And then another search and another application. In terms of KPO, we really have a very intensive autumn.

Railway lines modernized thanks to KPO

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kpo.gov.pl

What will the search include?

The autumn search will be the moment when we assess which investments we will not implement and want to replace them with others. One such example was the change in the parameters of the investment regarding the purchase of zero -emission buses. Up to a point, the European Commission pressed that we were to buy a lot of them, even more, even more than the actual demand. We explained the European Commission that, firstly, we do not want to do it massively at the moment when there is no demand, because it is much more expensive. Secondly, producers in Europe already have a lot of orders until the end of the KPO, and thirdly the only alternative we have is to buy Chinese buses. So we asked the question – do we really want to buy Chinese buses? The European Commission understood this perspective very well. This is a good example of the investment, which we have adapted so that the money from KPO does not flow to China, but stay in Poland.

And what will happen to the money that will remain from the Electricians subsidies program? There is no chance to use the full pool.

Together with the Ministry of the Climate, we talk about it with the European Commission. It is too early to assess what the effect of these negotiations will be, but I would like at least some of this money to find a very important goal, which is thermomodernization or, to put it simply, repairs of Polish schools. We want to move some of this money to this purpose. It seems to me that this is neither a particular postulate, nor right -wing nor leftist. It's just good.

This is a great postulate, but in that case it may have to be directed there immediately, instead of paying extra for new electric cars, which only rich Poles can afford?

It wasn't possible. We would like to remind you that the subsidy program itself is a response to a record inherited after law and justice on KPO on taxation of internal combustion cars. We wanted to get rid of it, so we sat down to negotiate with the European Commission, which was very unfavorable to talks about changing this tax. We made it clear that we would simply not introduce this load. The European Commission replied: “Good, then let's find some other mechanism in which we can do something for the electromobility market in Poland.” And the only solution that was on the table and was possible to implement and what we proposed was a carrot to turn the stick. And so we deleted the tax and introduced a system of subsidies. Now I hope that the openness of the commission for an interview will be a little greater and this money will be allocated to Polish schools.

What decisions will the Ministry of Funds expect from the new president first?

Certainly wise decisions strengthening social and limiting construction, or simply, to put it simply, vexing subsidies for developers and banks, i.e. payments for loans. I think that if such a project has ever appeared, the new president will have a moral obligation to block such subsidies. On the other hand, of course, we count on full cooperation in matters of our economic relations with the European Union and that all laws for the national reconstruction plan pass through the President's signature without undue delay.

Will you agree with the left in housing matters?

I am glad that the left wise and left the ideas of Siamese laws in which she wanted to go to some rotten compromises. On the one hand, she wanted to spend a zloty on subsidies for developers, on the other, a zloty for social construction. We say: a lot of money for social construction and zero zlotys for loans 0 percent. or other subsidies. We don't need them.

In that case, when you can expect a project that will actually launch extensive social housing and win the parliamentary majority? In the government, a lot of chaos was created in this matter – there are talks about projects that are later criticized by the ministers themselves.