2020-06-19 18:04 update: 2020-06-20, 15:10
Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Poland may get PLN 700 bln (EUR 157 bln) from the European Union in 2021-27, according to the new proposal of the European Recovery Fund and the bloc's 2021-27 budget, PM Mateusz Morawiecki said after Friday's European Council meeting.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the meeting was held via videoconference.
The EU's recovery fund will be worth EUR 750 bln in total, and Poland's share in the EU 2021-27 budget and the recovery fund will be worth EUR 160 bln, or PLN 700 bln, in aggregate, Morawiecki said. This will help the Polish economy get back on track after the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, he added.
There is a chance to finalise negotiations in July or August, according to the Polish prime minister.
Morawiecki also said the EU member states had taken a step forward in terms of fiscal solutions, suggesting a charge on multinational corporations for selling their products and services on the EU's single market and a financial transaction tax.
"Today, the EU needs a strong and fast reaction, we can't be wasting our time on lengthy negotiations, and that's why we suggest certain compromises," the prime minister said, adding that Poland's policy was at the centre of differing approaches.
"The south of Europe has a different view of this crisis, as do a few very stingy countries, as do the richest small countries of Western and Northern Europe, while Central Europe has yet another view," Morawiecki said.
Morawiecki praised his government's negotiation efficiency and saidPoland, in effect, will get a bigger share of the European Union's EUR 750 bln post-pandemic recovery fund than the government's political opponents claimed.
Most of the funds are subsidies, and a smaller part is made up of long-term loans with low interest rates, close to zero percent, Morawiecki also said.
The PM said Warsaw was supported not only by the regional Visegrad Group, which apart from Poland also comprises the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, but also by Romania. (PAP)
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