Brussels does not want to agree for a shift of EU subsidies for Poland from railways to motorways, as planned by the Polish government.

According to the worst possible scenario, Poland may lose EU subsidies worth 1.2 billion euro which were devoted to the development of the country’s railway infrastructure.

The move comes as Poland asked the EU to shift the subsidies from railway to motorways earlier this year, as a major delay in investments for PKP Polish Railways would mean the operator would not manage to use the subsidies by the end of 2014.

As a result, PKP resigned from the money and wanted to transfer it to highway construction projects, as reported earlier by Infrastructure Minister Cezary Grabarczyk.

The EC insists, however, that Poland must use the 1.2 billion-euro subsidy for railways, not motorways. “We’ve started negotiations with the European Commission and we hope that we won’t lose the subsidies,” says Adam Zdzieblo, deputy Infrastructure Minister, adding that the EC will take the final decision in two weeks.

Brussels has also expressed doubts concerning the construction of a local railway control centre in Dzialdowo, which was supposed to be financed by the EU’s Infrastructure and Environment programme.

The first part of the project was covered by funds allocated from the previous EU budget, while the second part was supposed to be financed from this year’s budget. The Commission, however, suspects that it may be the same investment, as they both come under the same name, and does not want to pay twice.

If the EU does not agree to cover the cost of the investment, the state budget will have to foot the bill as it is too late to stop construction works. “The deal signed last year is worth 953 million zloty (236 million euro) and the construction of the railway control centre is to finish in 2012,” says Robert Kuczynski from PKP Polish Railways. (mg/jb)

Source: Rzeczpospolita