Poland has all instruments to check and explain potential irregularities around the funds from the National Reconstruction Plan (KPO); The European Commission does not intervene at this stage – the spokesman of the EC Maciej Berestecki donated PAP on Saturday. According to him, the Polish authorities should first clarify.
– From what the prime minister announced, the Polish authorities will take action to explain suspicions – emphasized Bereststecki. – When the government's actions turn out to be ineffective, then we will intervene – added the spokesman for the EC.
Money from the KPO through the HoReCa industry (hoteling, gastronomy) was to be issued, among others to buy yachts and furniture. Therefore, the Ministry of Funds announced the controls, and the prosecutor's office has already undertaken checking activities. Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized that he expected quick decisions and collecting funds in the event of abuse.
The spokesman of the EC explained that each Member State has included in the agreement regarding the spending of KPO, to which the Commission is also a parties, the chapter regarding the control system. Therefore, until the moment that the EC does not find that attempts to explain irregularities at the national level have failed, the EC will not take action.
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– Poland has declared a desire to clarify the matter, so we are waiting for results – he noted. Bereststecki noticed that the contacts between the EC and the Polish authorities in the KPO case are “regular” at the technical level and the EC does not see the need for intervention at a different level.
On Friday before noon, the deputy minister of funds and regional policy Jan Szyszko announced the initiation of entrepreneurship development by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP), which supervises the spending of this money, additional inspections, which will check “every zloty” issued as part of the investment for the HoReca industry. He admitted that information about irregularities to the management of the MFIPR arrived a few weeks ago and in connection with them from their position at the end of July, the previous PARP president Katarzyna Duber-Stachurska was dismissed.
The duties of PARP president Krzysztof Gulda assured that the inspections are already carried out, but will be expanded, and their preliminary results are to be presented at the latest by the end of September this year. He informed that in the event of evidence of irregularities, it was possible to terminate the contract with the beneficiary and the return of EU funds.
The government announces drawing consequences in connection with the KPO
Representatives of the government, headed by the Prime Minister, announce controls of granting KPO funds and possible punishment in the event of abuse. PiS politicians believe that the distribution of these funds may be the largest financial scam in the Third Polish Republic and notify the prosecutor's office.
Platform X users on Thursday evening began to post examples of companies from the HoReCa industry (hotel and gastronomy), which received subsidies from KPO, including for company yachts, saunas, coffee machines, solariums, furniture replacement or the purchase of a virtual shooting range. The media also began to describe the case on Friday. The ministry of funds announced controls in this case, and the prosecutor's office has already taken checking activities. Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared that he would not accept any waste of money from the KPO and expected quick decisions, as well as to collect funds in the event of abuse.
Examples of some subsidies described on social platforms and media also caused a political discussion, which also lasted on Saturday.
Referring to the case, the Minister of the Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwiński during the Saturday conference emphasized that “waiting for the results of the inspection and would like to learn the scale of possible irregularities if they were.” – I am talking about this because among many of these subsidies, there are also subsidies that are used by Polish entrepreneurs – these are people in the vast majority of honest who simply want to diversify their businesses – he pointed out.
At the same time, he assured that if the inspections demonstrated irregularities, “the state would react, this money will definitely be recovered, and people who led to irregularities will be brought to consequences.”
Kierwiński reminded that the president of the Polish Entrepreneurship Agency (PARP) lost his position. The current head of the agency Katarzyna Duber-Stachurska was dismissed at the end of July.
The head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, asked if one can talk about the scandal in the current situation, he replied: “I know that some opposition politicians would like to shout about the scandal, only I would like to remind you that these are mainly those politicians who did everything to make this money not hit Poland at all; these are those politicians who have been blocking money for Poles for many years,” he said.
According to him, a greater scandal is how “such a process took place that the rulers of PiS, for example, did not want PiS for many years that the money from KPO would go to Poland at all.” He emphasized that thanks to the current ruling team it was managed to launch funds from the KPO, and the money from this program in “the vast majority strengthen the Polish economy, invested in things extremely needed”.
Opposition politicians are of a different opinion. Tobiasz Bocheński and Jacek decoration from PiS said during Saturday briefing that the distribution of funds from KPO is most likely “the largest financial scam of the Third Polish Republic”. They gave an example of a gastronomic place, which was awarded to a subsidy from the KPO to a multimedia exhibition about the bullshit of dumplings or pubs called the Ministry of Vodka and Herring, whose owners – as PiS politicians argued – said that they were friendly with the current authorities.
They announced that the case would be thoroughly examined with the help of parliamentary inspections and reports to the prosecutor's office. They added that they would check all beneficiaries and their connections with the politicians of the current ruling coalition.
Jarosław Kaczyński, PiS president, also took the floor in the case of the KPO. “They ruined the finances of the state. They are unable to provide budget revenues, and now see what they are doing with the money from KPO, which were to be allocated to the development of the Polish economy. (…) there was to be money for investments, innovations, drug security, and there is no one! There is no energy shield, free amount or investments in local governments. Power, “Kaczyński pointed out on Platform X.
Through the same platform of notification to the prosecutor's office of suspected public officials who were responsible for disposing of KPO funds, said Jacek Sasin (PiS).
PiS politicians were answered by the head of the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, who accused them that when they ruled, “they blocked the KPO and all the funds due to us from the Union, i.e. PLN 600 billion for our development in the name of party interests, against the Polish reason of state.” “At that time they stole the power of the so -called justice fund, the villa +. They did the Covid shield so that over 5.5 thousand projects were called to return,” she added. And she continued: “To hide their inadequacy about funds and KPO dissolves lies that grants from KPO are a debt.”
“The vast majority of KPO grants pay for us other wealthier EU countries. These grants are for Poland and Poles many times more profitable than a super expensive debt taken by PFR during PiS. – wrote on the platform x Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk joined the discussion, who emphasized that too much effort was put into unlocking KPO funds to allow anyone to waste. “Everyone who has made mistakes will suffer (or have already suffered),” emphasized the prime minister on platform X, adding that they will be pulled out regardless of the position and party belonging.
“And the fact that PiS is lying and manipulating in this matter will not be an excuse. For anyone,” said the head of government.
From Brussels Magdalena Cedro (PAP)
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