The European Union paid 6.3 billion euros to Poland as part of the post-pandemic recovery fund. The fund allocated for Poland had been on hold for a long time due to concerns about democracy and the rule of law in the country.

In the statement made by the Polish government and European Union (EU) officials, it was reported that Poland received the blocked payment of 6.3 billion euros on Monday. It was stated that this was the largest amount Poland has ever received from the EU at once.

The EU had previously said that the changes made in the judiciary by the previous government in Poland violated democratic checks and balances and blocked the payment.

The European Commission said at the time that Poland had to meet certain "milestones" to guarantee the independence of the judiciary in order to receive the funds.

The country's decline has been attributed to the far-right party Law and Justice (PiS), which has governed Poland for eight consecutive years, spearheading sweeping reforms that expanded political control over the judiciary and packed the courts with "loyalists."

The most controversial of these was the amendment that gave the Supreme Court's disciplinary chamber the power to punish judges based on the content of their decisions.

The changes sparked a protracted dispute between Brussels and Warsaw and resulted in the landmark decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) annulling the reform.

However, the country's share of the recovery fund, 34.5 billion euros in low-interest loans and 25.3 billion euros in non-refundable grants, were frozen until Donald Tusk, as Prime Minister, began drafting legislation to reverse the changes made during the PiS period.

The European Commission officially lifted the blockade on the money at the end of February, days after the Tusk government presented a nine-point "action plan" to restore judicial independence and adopted a ministerial order calling for a halt to unfair lawsuits against judges.

'This is just the beginning'
The commission found Warsaw's initiatives sufficient to meet two jurisdictional overarching conditions, or "super milestones", and allow Poland to gradually receive payments under the bloc's 750 billion euro common pot.

This move paved the way for the payment of 6.3 billion euros, consisting of 3.6 billion euros in loans and 2.7 billion euros in grants, allocated for the diversification of energy sources, the fight against air pollution and the modernization of agricultural production.

Poland has so far received only 5.1 billion euros of "pre-financing", but this was done without any conditions and in the same way for every member country.

"This is an important day for Poland. This is just the beginning," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday. he said.

Prime Minister Tusk said, "Good cooperation brings results." said.

Poland's minister responsible for regional policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska, described the amount in question as "the largest transfer from the EU throughout our membership history."

Warsaw is expected to make two more requests this year to receive another 23 billion euros. All payments will be contingent on the completion of investments and projects and may be suspended if there is a disruption in Tusk's judicial plans.

The nine bills covered by the "action plan" must bear the signature of President Andrzej Duda, who is politically aligned with the PiS party and has used his veto power in the past to block legislation he deemed to violate presidential prerogative.

Since leaving office, PiS officials have accused the European Commission of playing politics and withholding money to effect a change of government.