© . European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen prepares to welcome Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 18, 2022. Olivier Matthys/Pool via REUTERS WARSAW () – Poland has Progress has been made in talks with the European Commission on unblocking COVID-19 recovery funds, the prime minister said on Friday, adding he believed a deal could be reached. Brussels has yet to approve Warsaw’s national recovery plan, needed to unblock the 36 billion euros ($40.89 billion) in funding, following a dispute over judicial reforms the bloc says undermine the independence of the courts. “The odds have improved slightly after today’s talks,” Mateusz Morawiecki told a press conference in Brussels broadcast by Polish television, stressing that it would have to wait and see if an agreement could be reached in the coming weeks. Morawiecki spoke after meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier in the day. The Commission declined to comment on whether it shared Morawiecki’s view that the chances of unlocking Poland’s access to the EU recovery fund improved after the meeting. The European Union’s highest court on Wednesday cleared the way for the EU executive to cut billions of euros in funds to Poland and Hungary by rejecting Warsaw and Budapest objections to a new EU sanction, which would halt funding to members who violate European laws. The current dispute with Poland focuses on the Supreme Court Disciplinary Chamber, which critics say is a politicized body that punishes judges who oppose Warsaw’s judicial reforms. The EU’s highest court has demanded that it be dissolved, and last October it ruled that Poland must pay a million euros a day in fines for maintaining it. Ruling Polish nationalists Law and Justice (PiS) and President Andrzej Duda, a government ally, have both proposed legislation to try to end the deadlock. Critics say, however, that both sets of proposals fail to address the underlying problem of the politicization of the judiciary that the Disciplinary Chamber embodies. Despite the freeze in funding for COVID recovery, Poland is pushing ahead with its national recovery plan using its own resources. “The first tenders will start shortly and the money for their implementation has been secured,” Morawiecki said. “I don’t believe it will not be reimbursed (by the EU) in the future.” ($1 = 0.8804 euros) Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data on this website is not necessarily real-time or accurate. All CFDs (Stocks, Indices, Futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and therefore prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price meaning prices are indicative and not suitable for trading purposes . Therefore, Fusion Media does not bear any responsibility for any trading losses that you may incur as a result of using this data. Fusion Media or anyone associated with Fusion Media accepts no liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any information, including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals on this website. Be fully informed about the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest forms of investment possible.
