Today, the Commission has given a positive assessment of Poland’s modified recovery and resilience plan, which includes a REPowerEU chapter. The plan is now worth €59.8 billion (€34.5 billion in loans and €25.3 billion in grants) and covers 55 reforms and 56 investments.
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 is possible until Poland has satisfactorily fulfilled these three “super milestones”.
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.
Poland’s changes to the original plan are based on the need to factor in:
- objective circumstances hindering the fulfilment of certain measures as originally planned, including the high inflation experienced in 2022 and 2023 and supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;
- the request to take up an additional €23 billion in available RRF loans;
- the downward revision of its maximum Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) grant allocation, from €23.9 billion to €22.5 billion. This revision is a result of the June 2022 update to the RRF grants allocation key and reflects Poland’s comparatively better economic outcome in 2020 and 2021 than initially foreseen.
Poland’s RRF and REPowerEU 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.
An additional boost to Poland’s green transition
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).
The new reforms included in the REPowerEU chapter concern the streamlining of permitting processes for renewable energy sources (RES), the removal of barriers to the integration of RES into electricity grids and new regulatory solutions for the accelerated development of electricity grids. Moreover, the plan envisages support for energy efficiency in the housing sector and the accelerated phase-out of fossil fuels in home heating, for the development of skills for the green transition, as well as for the facilitation of development of local energy communities and promotion of sustainable mobility. The new investments include the development of electricity distribution networks in rural areas, support for construction and modernisation energy storage systems, the establishment of a fund supporting construction of offshore wind farms, as well as the establishment of a fund supporting a wider range of investments in the field of energy transformation. Support will also be provided for the development of the infrastructure necessary to meet the immediate needs related to the security of gas supply.
Reinforcing Poland’s digital preparedness and social resilience
The modified recovery and resilience plan continues to significantly contribute to the digital transition (21.3% of the plan’s total allocation). Measures to that effect include investments in e-services in public administration, digitalisation of education, development of digital skills and cybersecurity. A new investment to support the use of cloud technologies by businesses has been also added in the modified plan. At the same time, several of the measures included in the REPowerEU chapter contribute to the digital transition as well, including the development of transmission networks, smart electricity infrastructure and the streamlining of permitting for renewable energy.
The modified plan continues to address social and territorial challenges relevant for Poland and contributes to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The REPowerEU chapter includes a reform aimed at boosting green skills, accommodating the growing number of green jobs.
Next steps
The Council will now have, as a rule, four weeks to endorse the Commission’s assessment.
The Council’s endorsement will allow Poland to receive €5.1 billion in pre-financing of the REPowerEU funds.
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.
For More Information
Commission’s positive assesment of Poland’s revised plan
Poland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan website
Recovery and Resilience Facility: Questions and Answers
REPowerEU chapters and revision of recovery plans