The European Union has not granted any new money for combating the coronavirus pandemic, according to Michał Dworczyk, the chief of staff to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
He stressed that contrary to opposition party statements on the issue, the EU has merely allowed member states to reallocate a part of the EU funding they already receive towards the coronavirus fight.
Dworczyk refuted the opposition’s claim that EU had offered new money to combat the pandemic. He said no additional money has been made available in the 2014-2020 budget. Poland is currently only able to change the earmarking for existing EU funds.
Despite the lack of new funding from the EU, the Polish government injected an additional €47 billion into the Polish economy, a move announced by Poland’s prime minister on Wednesday.
Dworczyk also explained that a state of emergency can only be called if the state is unable to function normally. He added that it was too early to talk about postponing the election.
The minister also added that any state of emergency would not only mean a postponement of the presidential election set for May 10 but also serious limitations to civil liberties. So far, the government is proceeding according to the powers granted to it through the law on combating epidemics and the special measures passed by parliament two weeks ago.
The minister also informed that the government is addressing the situation on the German-Polish border. Organizational and regulatory changes since the crisis started have now improved the situation and reduced waiting times at the border.
The number of cases of coronavirus in Poland reached 367 on Friday morning. There have so far been 5 fatalities.
Title image: Michał Dworczyk (L) together with Interior minister Mariusz Kamiński (C) and PM Mateusz Morawiecki (R) during the government crises group meeting, source: TT/PremierRP
