The European Commission has approved Poland’s bid for €7.9 billion in post-Covid recovery funds, with millions earmarked for investments in trams and teaching equipment as part of the deal. Officials in Brussels announced on Monday that they had greenlit Poland’s latest request for money from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, which will be implemented as part of the country’s so-called National Recovery Plan (KPO). The Commission said that the conditions for releasing the funds the establishment of a scheme that has seen over 500,000 Polish teachers – more than 65% of the teaching workforce – receive vouchers to buy laptops. Over 16,500 primary and secondary schools have also received new equipment, officials said. Other measures linked to the package include nearly 90 trams purchased for use in Krakow, Poznań and Wrocław. Jan Szyszko, Poland's deputy minister for funds, said the money is set to be transferred to Poland in October, and will be used to fund shelters, railway lines and oncological equipment. He emphasized that further funds were expected to be granted in 2027. Billions in funding Poland submitted its latest application for payment from the Recovery and Resilience Facility on 19 June this year. The scheme, launched in 2021, is designed to encourage a greener and more resilient EU economy after the devastating pandemic. Poland is set to receive around €54.7 billion through the funding mechanism in total, with €25.28 billion made up of grants and €29.44 billion in loans. The deadline for the implementation of the plan is this year. The funding scheme has regularly hit the headlines in Poland over the years. Under Poland’s previous government, led by the nationalist-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, Warsaw’s access to the money was blocked by Brussels over rule-of-law disputes. The current centrist government made unlocking the funds a priority after coming into power in 2023. However, reports emerged last year that funds may have been misused and spent on luxury items, prompting an investigation.
