By Jan Strupczewski
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will find a way for Poland to access some 111 billion euros in frozen EU funds as the new Polish government moves toward alleviating the bloc's concerns about the rule of law, European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Wednesday.
New centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government was sworn in on Wednesday, the final step in a transfer of power that marks a huge change after eight years of nationalist rule.
Following years of disputes between Warsaw and Brussels under the previous government, led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, Tusk's appointment has raised hopes of smoother relations with the European Union.
"We have a lot of expectations and we will certainly support him (Tusk) in his efforts," Hahn told Reuters in an interview.
"We're not talking about an immediate transfer of billions -- it's more about de-blocking of funds. We have to see how to proceed," he said. "I'm sure that we will find ways to help Poland. We don't have any doubts that they are moving so to say in the right rule-of-law direction," he said.
Hahn's comment was the first official word from the Commission about Poland's prospects for gaining access to the EU funds since the change in government. Tusk arrived in Brussels on Wednesday for an EU summit and will discuss the frozen funds with the Commission on the sidelines.
At stake is Poland's access to 35.4 billion euros ($38.1 billion) in grants and loans from the European Union's recovery fund, which the EU has suspended until Warsaw restores the independence of its judiciary system, undermined by the PiS government.
The same concerns are blocking Poland's access to 76.5 billion euros ($82.5 billion) of EU cohesion funds, meant to raise the standard of living in the EU's poorer regions.
Poland will have to pass new laws to meet some of the Commission's demands that the country reverse measures adopted by the previous, nationalist government.
But the new laws will require the signature of Poland's President Andrzej Duda, who is aligned with the former government and has signalled he would not support them.
Duda's term ends in mid-2025, creating an obstacle for the Tusk government. Hahn said the Commission would work with Warsaw to solve the problem.
"How this can be done is beyond my current knowledge. But we certainly will not wait one and a half years, so I think there must be a kind of solution," he said.