London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 20, 2025

How Poland blew its chance to get billions in EU recovery cash

How Poland blew its chance to get billions in EU recovery cash

The EU's Justice Commissioner received "brutal" treatment last month in Warsaw, a member of his delegation said, during talks aimed at defusing a dispute over the independence of Poland's judiciary that is blocking billions of euros in economic aid.

In a carefully staged media appearance, Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro presented Didier Reynders with pictures of a Warsaw ruined in World War Two, suggesting that Europe has a long history of treating Poland unfairly.

Poland's combative stance at the meeting dashed hopes for an entente that might help unlock 36 billion euros in post-pandemic recovery stimulus to Warsaw, sources told Reuters.

"After the visit, the team was a bit down. It's a difficult situation," the delegation member told Reuters. "It's a bit depressing."

A source close to Ziobro said Reynders was "evidently shocked" at Warsaw's position.

"Positions have not come closer," said the person, adding that any hope in Brussels that Poland would give way at the meeting proved wrong.

The bloc accuses Poland's ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) of political meddling in the judicial system in violation of EU law and says it must scrap a disciplinary system for judges that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has already struck down.

Warsaw says its shake-up of the judiciary is needed to increase efficiency and rid it of communist-era vestiges.

That row is part of a much wider clash over democratic standards that also includes women's rights and media freedoms.

Despite these disputes, PiS retains solid backing in Poland where it has boosted welfare spending since coming to power in 2015. Its nationalist, eurosceptic rhetoric goes down well with working and lower middle class Poles outside the big cities.

It remains unclear when and how Warsaw might change its Disciplinary Chamber at Poland's Supreme Court in a way that would satisfy the executive European Commission in Brussels and allow for disbursement of the COVID recovery funds.

MONEY


"The strongest argument the EU has (in the disputes) is the massive pile of money (Commission President Ursula) von der Leyen is sitting on and won't release until this moves," said the delegation member.

Asked for comment on the situation, the Polish government's information office did not address the disciplinary chamber issue but said Warsaw's talks with the Commission were bringing closer a compromise that would allow the disbursement of money.

Reynders said after his Warsaw visit that he had received no answer to his queries about how Poland planned to comply with the ECJ ruling against the disciplinary chamber. The Commission said talks with Warsaw were continuing.

Since Reynders' visit, two other events have further eroded prospects for a swift resolution of the standoff.

Firstly, Germany, Europe's most powerful country, has a new ruling coalition that has signalled a harder line over democratic backsliding in the EU than former centre-right chancellor Angela Merkel.

A first test of that new line will come on Sunday when Merkel's Social Democrat successor, Olaf Scholz, visits Warsaw.

Secondly, a legal opinion issued by an advocate-general at the ECJ has all but scuppered efforts by Poland and Hungary to block a new tool aimed at cutting cash for states that violate the EU's democratic rules.

As well as the COVID recovery funds, Poland also risks losing money earmarked for it under the EU's 2021-27 shared 1.1 trillion euro budget.

For now, a senior member of the EU's executive said last week that Poland would not receive the grants and cheap loans now rolling into most other EU countries to help them recover from the pandemic, unless it changed tack.

"It is unlikely that we can finalise this work (on approving Poland's national recovery plan and disbursing the funds) this year," EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
×