Jakarta –
Conservative opposition in Poland accused the government of the leadership of Prime Minister Donald Tusk of being involved in the scandal of misuse of COVID-19 recovery funds from the European Union (EU). The money should be intended to help small businesses in the hospitality and restaurant sector after Pandemi Corona.
Over the past few weeks, the biggest conservative and opposition party of Poland, the Legal and Justice Party (PIS), reviewed the issue of national budget abuse. PIS Chairperson, Jaroslaw called it a “big scandal”.
The European Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) conducted an investigation.
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Overall, Poland received pandemic recovery assistance from the EU worth up to 59.8 billion euros or around Rp1,100 trillion. The amount consists of grant funds of 25.3 billion euros or 480 trillion rupiah and low flowering loans of 34.5 billion euros (Rp654 trillion).
The accusation proposed by the opposition refers to some of the disbursed budgets.
Around 1.2 billion zloty (Rp5.3 trillion) is specially allocated to support small businesses in the hospitality and restaurant sector affected by Pandemi Covid-19. Of these, around 110 million zloty (Rp489 billion) has been disbursed and allegedly misused.
Corona recovery funds for sex clubs?
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But the media related to PIS, said the funds were used to finance cruise ships, saunas, solarium, new office furniture, virtual shooting fields, online card game courses, even adult clubs. The Government Party Coalition and PM Donald Tust are said to be part.
“Instead of stimulating the economy, this reconstruction fund is a large scandal: sailboats, solarium, outdoor events, and coffee machines,” the Pis Kaczynski politician wrote in X continued the opposition politician.
Tusk under pressure
PIS police urged the formation of the Prosecutors’ Special Team to investigate this case. MPs member Jacek Sasin has even filed a demand specifically aimed at Tusk, said the Prime Minister “could not pretend not to be involved in this matter.” For Deputy Chairman of Pis Tobiasz Bochenski, this case is “The Biggest Scandal Since the Democratic Transition of 1989”.
During the election campaign, as an opposition leader, Tusk had promised to ensure that Poland received European Union funds that were previously blocked by the European Commission. The blocking was determined by violations of the law committed by the PIS government.
Although the Tusk government has not fully restored the law in Poland, Tusk managed to get the trust from Brussels to get these funds.
Recovery Funds State the Polish economy
Recovery funds have contributed significantly to the success of the Polish economy over the past 18 months, wrote the Poland weekly news magazine, WProst, on the editorial page. But “The scandal has damaged the image of Tusk’s government.”
Responding to the accusation, Tusk stressed “will not tolerate the misuse of Corona Assistance Funds”. He also stressed that the initial examination did not find any corruption or misuse of funds. According to him, what happened was more “inaccurate fund management.”
Tusk also announced this might have an impact on changing the position of the minister, but so far, Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, Minister of Development and Regional Policy Funds, is still in office.
He is one of the leaders of the 2050 Polska Party, who in the Tusk coalition government, and without Nalecs, Tusk does not have the majority of votes in parliament.
Does the opposition contribute to this scandal?
Tusk sees PIS responsible for this scandal: the previous government “gives very little time to its cabinet to allocate funds to Polish companies”. To meet the deadline, the ministry led by Pelczynska-Nalecz “loosen the procedure so that the community can get aid funds,” explained Tusk.
For two years the Corona EU recovery fund for Poland was frozen because of PIS violations of the principle of the rule of law. The new EU commission again disbursed the funds after the change of government.
Disbursement of funds was temporarily stopped
The hotel and restaurant entrepreneurs are most affected by this scandal. The Ministry has postponed the disbursement of this aid fund until further notification. All contract documents will be reviewed, ensuring its compatibility with the EU criteria.
There is also the possibility of withdrawing aid funds, if it is found suspicious in its realization. Until now, the ministry has signed more than 3,000 contracts of assistance.
The program for the hospitality and restaurant industry is only a small part of the total recovery funds owned by Poland. Most recovery funds will be used for climate-related projects, rail transportation modernization, or allocated for energy and hospital providers. After the aid funds can be returned, the funds will also be used to support defense projects.
The new Poland president, Karol Nawrocki, also voiced his opinion about the European Union’s fund scandal, “Polish people have the right to be angry when they hear public money spent on solarium, sauna, and sailing vessels,” he told the POLSAT television station. “Of course, the government is currently responsible.”
The right -wing politician frankly mentioned his desire to bring down the Tusk government, before the upcoming parliamentary election in 2027.
This article was first published in German
Adapted by Sorta Caroline
Editor: Rizki Nugraha
(ITA/ITA)
