The European Commission has given a positive assessment to Poland’s recovery and resilience plan which will be financed by €23.9 billion in grants and €11.5 billion in loans. The National Recovery Plan is designed to strengthen polish economy after the COVID-19 crisis and support digital and green transitions.

The financing provided by the Recovery and Resilience Facility – at the heart of NextGenerationEU – will support the implementation by 2026 of crucial investment and reform measures put forward by Poland. These measures will help Poland to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Polish plan forms part of an unprecedented, coordinated EU response to the COVID-19 crisis, to address common European challenges by embracing the green and digital transitions, to strengthen economic and social resilience and the cohesion of the Single Market. In particular, Poland’s plan will foster digitalization, protect the climate through improved air quality and the development of renewable energy sources, improve healthcare services, and strengthen the independence of the judiciary.

KEY MEASURES TO SECURE POLAND’S GREEN TRANSITION

• Renewable energy sources: financing offshore wind farms on the Baltic Sea and terminal infrastructures, investments in renewable energy installations and energy storage capacity, reforms unlocking investments in onshore wind capacity, support for new low-carbon hydrogen technologies, reform to eliminate bottlenecks for imports of electricity. €5 billion
• Sustainable mobility: doubling the number of zero-emission vehicles by 2026, modernization of 478 km of railway lines, cleaner public urban transport, shifting transport from road to rail, road safety improvements. €7.5 billion
• Improving air quality: support for large-scale energy-efficiency renovations of residential and public buildings, with phase-out of public support for coal-fired boilers, mandatory criteria for solid fuels to reduce air pollution. €3.5 billion
  

KEY MEASURES TO SUPPORT POLAND’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

• Access to broadband infrastructure in rural areas: ensuring additional 931,000 households have access to fixed broadband network by 2026, boosting the deployment of 5G networks throughout the country. €2.6 billion
• Digital skills for the digital age: support for ICT equipment for schools and teachers, investing in large-scale digital upskilling. €734 million
• E-services: investing in e-services offered by public administration to citizens and businesses. €420 million
• Cybersecurity: strengthening the State’s cybersecurity capacity and securing data processing infrastructure. €443 million
  

KEY MEASURES TO REINFORCE POLAND’S ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESILIENCE

• Improving labor market participation and increasing access to and quality of childcare: large-scale investments in childcare facilities and a reform to improve educational standards and incentives for longer working careers for those who opt to do so. €381 million
• Improving accessibility and quality of healthcare services: reform of the hospital sector and related investments, measures in the fields of e-health, medical studies and research, and long-term care. €4.4 billion

Source: E.C press corner