Poland’s plan to access €35.4 billion ($37.8 billion) in European Union recovery funds suffered an unexpected setback after the president asked the top court to weigh in on the key piece of legislation that promised to pave the way for the release of aid.
(Bloomberg) — Poland’s plan to access €35.4 billion ($37.8 billion) in European Union recovery funds suffered an unexpected setback after the president asked the top court to weigh in on the key piece of legislation that promised to pave the way for the release of aid.
Speaking in a television address late on Friday, President Andrzej Duda said the bill, which reverses some of the contested changes in the judiciary and follows an agreement with the EU’s executive, “raises serious constitutional controversies.”
The decision means the government is unlikely to receive the coveted EU financing before a parliamentary election in the fall, as was previously hoped. The ruling Law & Justice party is facing constraints in boosting spending, which has proved winning formula in the last two elections.
The nationalist coalition has been under pressure to put its conflict with Brussels to rest as the highest inflation in decades eats into voter support. The legislation aimed to ease the EU’s concern over the rule-of-law, which effectively led the European Commission to halt payouts since June until the government rolls back its sweeping justice system reform.
The top court, which is now set to assess whether the bill conforms with the constitution, has a history of contentious rulings. In December 2021, it questioned the primacy of some EU laws over Polish constitution.
Duda appealed to the justices on Friday to start reviewing the legislation immediately and insisted his decision won’t delay the disbursement of funds because of other legal requirements the government still needs to fulfill.
“The Tribunal has already shown in its history that it is able to express itself quickly in important cases,” the president said. Until that happens, the bill won’t become law, he added.
(Adds context, more comments from Duda starting in the third paragraph.)
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