Poland Delays EU Stimulus Vote to May Amid Coalition Discord

(Bloomberg) -- Poland will start ratifying the European Union’s 750 billion euro ($892 billion) pandemic stimulus only in early May, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, as the government struggles to secure enough support for the plan.

The premier’s admission that the approval will drag beyond the end of this month underlines a deepening split in the ruling coalition and could delay the key element of the EU’s effort to bolster its virus-scarred economy.

The junior ruling party of Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro is refusing to back the stimulus, arguing it will leave Poland on the hook for the debts of other states. The country’s de facto leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has warned that his three-way alliance could collapse unless the plan is approved.

Morawiecki said the ruling party is consulting widely with opposition parties and he isn’t “particularly worried” about the country’s ability to eventually ratify the plan.

Poland is among 10 countries that have yet to approve the recovery fund, which requires the sign off from all EU member states to become fully operational. Any delays would make it difficult for the block to start issuing debt and distribute the pandemic aid.

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