Poland’s recovery planning lacks public consultation and transparency

Poland will be the fourth largest beneficiary of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, as it is set to receive EUR 57 billion – an unprecedented amount of EU funds to be invested in such a short period of time, drawing comparisons to the Marshall Plan that helped lift Western Europe up from the postwar crisis. In a letter delivered yesterday to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland, campaigners urged the Polish government not to waste such an opportunity by leaving citizens out of the planning process and using the funds to support low-quality projects. Signatories of the letter include environmental CSOs, such as Polish Green Network, WWF, ClientEarth, and Climate Strategies, as well as business organisations.

All photos courtesy of WWF Poland. The letter contains proposals on how to ensure the plan complies with the “do no significant harm” principle. Campaigners also point toward important milestones the plan should address. To truly work for the people, Poland’s NRRP should include the following projects:

• clean air and energy;
• mobility and inclusive transport;
• broadband internet;
• ways to deal with drought and water pollution; and
• healthy and safe food.

With the April 30 deadline for national plans’ submission to the Commission soon approaching, the Polish government has kept the content of the plan a mystery, with no dialogue with members of the public whatsoever.  A survey prepared by Bankwatch and CAN Europe shows whether Member States are complying with EU rules on public participation and in Poland’s case, the answers form a resounding “no”. Poland’s NRRP draft is not available and the government is not sharing any information about its content. Works are carried out in closed working groups that do not include environmental CSOs. There is also no word on whether a strategic environmental assessment, required by the EU, will be carried out.

Read more about the survey here.