“No Hungarian escalation will change our goals.” Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz about the Polish presidency of the EU

Minister Pełczyńska-Nałęcz emphasized in “Fakty po Faktach” that Poland has “very clear goals of the presidency” of the European Union, such as security issues, supporting Ukraineas well as negotiating the next financial perspective.

The Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union starts on January 1, 2025 and will traditionally last half a year.

– This is also important from the perspective of my ministry, i.e. future European funds, future cohesion funds, all this will happen in the coming months and no Hungarian escalation will change our goals – emphasized the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy.

In her opinion, “the economy is a strength, but security and sovereignty issues cannot be sacrificed for short-sighted economic goals and this is, unfortunately, what we see today in the middle of Hungary and Slovakia.”

According to the ministry of funds Slovakia may consider cooperation with the president Russia Vladimir Putin it can be profitable.

– A good friend, a good co-worker, he promised gas, it will be better. There are such groups of people, parties, narratives in Europe. We also need to realize that there is an ongoing information war and Russia is spreading this propaganda throughout Europe through social media, its corrupt media and agents. It really happens all the time, she said.

– Two years of delay, one year of implementation, because I signed the first application exactly on December 15, 2023, so you can say that it is 12 months and a few days and during these 12 months we have crossed the halfway point when it comes to submitting applications – said the minister, referring to to the issue of the National Reconstruction Plan.

She added that “in the middle of next year we will be able to say more or less what has been saved and what, unfortunately, cannot be achieved.”

– Today I signed the 4th and 5th applications (…). Will we make up for these two years? I don't know, we're racing against time. (…) By the middle of next year we will be able to say what has been saved and what is impossible to achieve. But I don't want to say too early what we will or won't do. These are huge investment funds, very much needed in Poland, argued Pełczyńska-Nałęcz on TVN24.

– People implementing investments are everywhere (…). Today we have a total of 630,000 contracts signed throughout Poland, and next year will be a year of investments. So far, it has been recruitment, contracts, preparations, and investments, of course, but next year we may exceed PLN 90 billion invested in very specific things, she added.

On Friday, Pełczyńska-Nałęcz announced that signed the 4th and 5th applications with the KPO for the amount of approximately PLN 30 billion. Earlier, representatives of the Ministry of Funds informed that this year Poland plans to submit the 4th and 5th applications for payment from the KPO for an amount of up to PLN 30 billion.

Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, when asked whether Poland 2050 expects explanations from MEP Michał Koboska regarding contacts with Collegium Humanum, stated that there is no such reason, as the case is “100% pure”.

– I know that (Michał Kobosko – ed.) reasonably believes that his personal rights have been violated and will take legal action – she noted. She added that in this case “nobody bought or studied diplomas, nothing like that happened.”

– There is not a single trace of anyone wanting to buy diplomas, so it's really a mistake, a crime when it comes to Collegium Humanum, let's be honest, about buying diplomas. This is bad, it is punishable, it should not happen, it should be prosecuted, but it does not happen here and it is a very clean situation – she explained.

The scandal surrounding the Collegium Humanum broke out in March. The university offered fast MBA courses and other programs that made it easier to obtain diplomas, often used for promotion in the structures of State Treasury companies. Some of these diplomas were to be issued without an appropriate educational process, and their credibility was to be ensured by cooperating foreign universities, which in fact had no authority to do so. From February CBA detained 28 people and a total of 150 charges were brought against them.

During the conversation, the minister also referred to the president's decision to refer the amendment to the Sports Act to the Constitutional Tribunal.

– Personally, I look at this act maybe from a women's perspective, because there are very important elements about equal rights for female players, as well as the possibility of going to competitions. maternity leave And these things seem right and necessary to me, and it's a pity that instead of coming into force, they were simply blocked, she said.

She pointed out that there is an “astonishing contradiction” in the president's decision because, on the one hand, he intends to run for a member of the International Olympic Committee, and on the other hand, he is suspending changes in sports.

Read more: The president decided on the bill and sports >>>

The minister also referred to the case of MP Marcin Romanowski, who, despite a European arrest warrant, uses Hungarian asylum. – I have the impression that the man committed real crimes and there could be doubts until he confessed to it and fled from justice. These are not heroic deeds, just a mundane matter, i.e. embezzlement of public funds, she commented.

– Well, I don't want to act as a judge, but it's clear that it's not about pennies, but about big resources. There is quite hard evidence for this and if he really wants to prove his innocence, he should stand trial in his home country and not flee abroad. What's more, he ran away from his own job because he is an MP – said Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.

Read also: How do Poles evaluate Hungary's decision in the case of Marcin Romanowski? >>>