Huge financial boost for Poland. EU Commission approves Poland's modified recovery plan

In late August, Poland sent the EU Commission a modified version of its recovery and resilience plan in which it asked for additional loans and grants from the REPowerEU program related with energy. The Commission approved this revised plan on Tuesday.

As the TVN24 Brussels correspondent, Maciej Sokołowski, informed earlier on, the modified national recovery plan and the payout of advance cash did not mean that all recovery funds for Poland - nearly 60 billion euro - had been unlocked.

In order for this to happen, Poland still needs to fulfil all so-called "super milestones" related with its justice system. The EU executive is still waiting for changes regarding disciplinary procedures for Polish judges.

"The three 'super milestones' related to strengthening important aspects of the independence of the Polish judiciary and the use of Arachne, an IT tool that supports Member States in their anti-fraud activities, remain unchanged in Poland’s revised plan. This means that no disbursement following a payment request under the RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility - edit.) is possible until Poland has satisfactorily fulfilled these three 'super milestones'" - the EU Commission said in a statement released on Tuesday, following the decision regarding Poland's resilience plan.

The Commission also said that "Poland's REPowerEU chapter consists of seven new reforms, seven new investments and three investments transferred from the original plan (two of which have been scaled-up)".

"The implementation of these measures will help deliver on the REPowerEU Plan’s objective of making Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels well before 2030. The reforms include measures aimed at streamlining the permitting procedures for renewable energy sources, removing barriers to the connection of renewable energy sources to the grids and promoting green skills."

"The new investments aim at supporting the energy transformation, including electricity transmission and distribution networks and offshore wind farms," we read.

"Poland’s REPowerEU and RRF grants allocation (amounting to €22.5 billion and €2.8 billion respectively), together with €34.5 billion in RRF loans (€23 billion new RRF loans and €11.5 billion in loans in the original plan), make the overall modified plan worth €59.8 billion," the Commission explained.

According to Brussels, "the modified plan has a strong focus on the green transition, allocating 46.6% of available funds to measures that support climate objectives (up from 42.7% in the original plan)".

Furthermore, the Commission said the revised plan "continues to significantly contribute to the digital transition (21.3% of the plan’s total allocation)," continues to address "social and territorial challenges relevant for Poland", at the same time contributing to "the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights".

The Council of the European Union now has four weeks to endorse the Commission’s assessment. It can happen on Dec. 8, during a session of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). It will be attended by economy and finance ministers of all EU states.

"The Council's endorsement will allow Poland to receive €5.1 billion (approx. 22 billion zlotys - edit.) in pre-financing of the REPowerEU funds," we read in the Commission's statement.

"The Commission will authorise further regular disbursements based on the satisfactory fulfilment of the three 'super milestones' strengthening important aspects of the independence of the Polish judiciary and concerning the use of Arachne, an IT tool that supports Member States in their anti-fraud activities and on the satisfactory fulfilment of other milestones and targets outlined in Poland’s revised recovery and resilience plan, reflecting progress on the implementation of the investments and reforms.