Pełczyńska-Nałęcz about KPO and Tusk. Does the minister feel mobbed?

Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, spoke on the controversy surrounding the National Reconstruction Plan (KPO) and the individual comment of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. In an extended interview with RMF FM, the minister powerfully rejected allegations of irregularities in its resort, while referring to the proposition of mobbing by the head of government. Her statements shed fresh light on current political and financial events, which have a direct impact on the Polish economy and entrepreneurs. The Minister stressed that its precedence was to manage EU funds effectively and reasonably and to defend beneficiaries from unfair attacks. The situation around the KPO and the ministry's consequence are of wide interest, especially in the context of further payments and investments.

KPO: Minister of Interpreters and Entrepreneurs' Arms

In the face of increasing criticism about spending funds from KPO, Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz powerfully defended the actions of her ministry. She stressed that there have been no consequences for the Deputy Ministers or the Ministry, as there have been no discriminatory actions specified as corruption, political influence or self-benefits. The Minister assured that she had fulfilled all her responsibilities in the substance of the NPO, overseeing 1.5 million contracts with European funds. Its key function is to guarantee that no gold is wasted. If irregularities are detected, the ministry immediately responds by enforcing recovery. At the same time Pełczyńska-Nałęcz categorically opposed the "politicist hate" aimed at honest entrepreneurs who became the mark of attacks after signing contracts. She stressed that the introduction of additional checks before any fast payment of moneyto prevent abuse while respecting reliable beneficiaries. Since the beginning of the investment, Poland has already received PLN 67 billion from KPOthe advancement made in implementing the plan.

"All the cameras on the Minister": Mobbing or Joke?

One of the most commented themes of the interview was the words of Donald Tusk, who, at the Council of Ministers meeting, directed attention to Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, saying, "all cameras on the Minister." erstwhile asked if she took it as a mobbing, the minister responded with a distance. She said is not a individual who can easy get out of balance and get into a state of mobbingI think it's more of a joke. Nevertheless, it has utilized this situation to draw attention to a much wider and more serious social problem – mobbing in Poland in the employer-employee relationship. Pełczyńska-Nałęcz stressed that Poland has any of the highest rates of stress at work, which is an highly negative phenomenon. In her opinion, if this incidental has contributed to raising the subject of mobbing, it is crucial that it is simply a serious issue to fight due to the fact that many people in Poland endure from this.

Controversy around HoReCa: Where Did the Problem and How Was It Solved?

The Minister of Funds besides referred to the controversy surrounding the HoReCa support project. She explained it. This task was programmed, invented and introduced to KPO by the erstwhile Law and Justice Governmentwho then reviewed it. Pełczyńska-Nałęcz expressed outrage that PiS politicians, who undertook to support the manufacture affected by the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, are now attacking people who entered this task and signed contracts. She stressed that in practice could not delete this task from KPO, but the ministry took action to tighten up the rigors. The rule has been introduced that an entrepreneur will receive a grant only in case of inheritance 30 percent of COVID turnover followed by 20 percent (previously, there were no precise criteria). In addition, a punishment for fixed assets was introduced and the duration of usage of purchased equipment, e.g. mobile express, was clarified.

Appeal of the Head of PARP and Ministry of Knowledge

In the context of the irregularities related to the KPO, Minister Pełczyńska-Nałęcz revealed that the first signals concerning problems (from entrepreneurs) had learned about 2-3 months ago. In consequence to this information, she decided to cancel the head of the Polish Agency for Enterprise improvement (PARP), Katarzyna Duber-Stachurska. The minister categorically denied that she knew of the abuses by the entrepreneurs themselves before these were made public. “I did not receive any letter from PARP to inform me about this” – she noted. The problem came to light erstwhile "signalists on the net utilized what we intentionally gave them, i.e. full disclosure of data". That's erstwhile the ministry carefully analyzed the situation. Interestingly, the erstwhile PARP chief in her message stated that ‘the Ministry knew about boats’, alleging that the ministry had answered the operator's questions about allowing boats with a combustion engine. This indicates a discrepancy in the communicative between the ministry and the erstwhile head of the agency.

Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz's statements clearly indicate her determination to guarantee appropriate spending of EU funds and to defend honest beneficiaries. Despite political and media pressure, the Minister stresses the importance of transparency and accountability in managing public funds. Her declarations regarding the introduction of rigorous controls are aimed at expanding assurance in the investment process with KPO and ensuring that this money truly serves the improvement of Poland. Ultimately, citizens are to gain from the transparency of data and the anticipation of co-responsibility for the supervision of public expenditure.