Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska‑Nałęcz, at a press conference, clarified that the KPO program has been reinforced, not relaxed. She explained newly imposed constraints, paused disbursements until contracts are verified, and addressed the dismissal of PARP’s head and concerns over a potential conflict of interest involving an MP’s wife.
Controversy over KPO – The Program Tightened, Not Relaxed
Katarzyna Pełczyńska‑Nałęcz on HoReCa’s Inclusion in KPO
The HoReCa program was incorporated into the KPO under the PiS administration – this program has been tightened, not relaxed. We introduced a one‑year grace period for the purchase of durable goods. Why a year? Because all investments from the grant part must conclude in year 26. If the KPO had started earlier, or the program had been implemented earlier, this grace period could have been longer. This decision was introduced as a whole – she said. She added that initially the program had no grace period at all. The Minister of Funds and Regional Policy also addressed the criticized lowering of the criterion for reducing a company’s turnover during the pandemic, which qualified for subsidies. This requirement was lowered from 30% to 20%. It was not a relaxation, just a normal procedural action. In the first tender, a high threshold of 30% is set. Then, because the indicator was not met, in the next tender a lower threshold… at a level of 20% turnover loss. This is normal, standard, and necessary operation within KPO.
Suspension of Payouts
The minister announced “fast and wide” control measures. The checks concern the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development and units that directly granted subsidies. “Today I decided that no funds will be disbursed for payouts to beneficiaries until the contract is verified and deemed compliant with HoReCa rules,” she said. She informed that so far beneficiaries have received 110 million zlotys, while the entire program amounts to 1.2 billion. “We have suspended these funds. They will be paid as controls progress,” she added.
Dismissal of PARP Director
Pełczyńska‑Nałęcz also addressed the dismissal of the head of PARP. As she said, she made the decision because of “ineffectiveness, delayed actions, not only regarding HoReCa but also other programs.” “I did not disclose this to the public because I deemed it inappropriate to endanger the personal, professional, and image integrity of the person who did not perform in that position,” she said. “It was not related to these specific irregularities. There were numerous complaints from HoReCa beneficiaries regarding cooperation with PARP,” she added.
Funds for MP’s Wife – Personal Outrage
The minister was asked by a journalist whether she sees a conflict of interest in granting a subsidy to the wife of a member of parliament. No name was mentioned at the conference, but it presumably referred to funds for the wife of Artur Łącki from the KO. “This situation purely scrambles me. However, as a minister, I must act according to the rules. These are huge sums, and there should not be a shadow that something has been done from my side or by any ministerial staff, meaning that someone of us intervened in any procedure from a political key,” she said. “And the procedures are strictly described; there is no possibility to insert into any tender’s regulation the point ‘do not grant to persons with party membership’ or ‘do not grant to persons whose spouse, mother, father have party membership.’ These are unacceptable provisions in any tender from European funds; therefore these provisions are absent, so there’s no basis for enforcement. My political intervention is excluded, as that would mean I politically interfered in procedural decisions. This must not be done; it’s the worst possible practice,” she added.
