FILE PHOTO: European flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman
WARSAW (Reuters) - The European Commission has recommended that 5 billion euros ($5.45 billion) in advance payments be released to Poland as part of the REPowerEU programme to aid energy transition and diversification away from Russian fossil fuels, a Polish minister said on Tuesday.
The funds are an addition to the 35.4 billion euros in grants and loans from the EU's COVID-19 recovery fund, which the bloc has suspended until Warsaw rolls back reforms that critics say undermine the independence of its judiciary system.
The REPowerEU funds do not depend on Commission conditions on rule of law milestones that must be achieved to unlock the remaining pandemic recovery funds as well as 76.5 billion euros of EU funds aimed at raising living standards in poorer regions.
"5 billion euros in advances!" Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Grzegorz Puda wrote on social media platform X.
The funds from REPowerEU will become available after European Union finance ministers approve the commission's recommendation. EU finance ministers meet on Dec. 8.
A European Commission spokesperson could not be reached for immediate comment.
($1 = 0.9168 euros)
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by David Goodman)
