Following media reports on irregularities in awarding grants to the HoReCa (hotel, catering, tourism and culture) industry from the funds of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, decided to initiate intervention controls on awarding the grants.

We verified all 3206 agreements signed. We divided them into two categories: those where you can see that everything is OK and those where there is any even minimum possibility that something goes wrong. In that way, we submitted 1389 projects for further scrutiny. We carried out 39 in-depth inspections. Irregularities were detected in seven cases

- the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz said at a press conference at the MDFRP.

Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz informed that the inspections had detected two main types of irregularities. The first one is an investment that is not compliant with the business plan. The head of the MDFRP highlighted that, for example, out of three in-depth audited projects for subsidising navigation equipment, one was irregular.

The irregularity is that this navigation equipment has not been launched according to the business plan, i.e. it is not made available to customers and does not lead to the development of the company. This will most likely end in funds being withdrawn or not being paid out, i.e. cancelling of the support

- the minister explained.

She stressed that in the event of operating in line with the business plan but slower than contracted, there would be no clawback of funds only a reminder and another inspection.

The second category of irregularity is the conflict of interest in HoReCa support programme operators. The grant should not be awarded if the expert assessing the project is linked with the beneficiary. Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz reported that in case of two operators - the Kalisz Business Incubator Foundation and the Rzeszów Regional Development Agency - “we have identified one case each of a serious suspicion of a conflict of interest”.

If the evaluator is related to the beneficiary, the operator shall suffer financial consequences. If it is proven that a false declaration of interest has been submitted, which has nevertheless taken place, the case can be referred to the public prosecutor's office 

- K. Pełczyńska-Nałęcz informed.

HoReCa inspections until the end of the NRP

The minister explained that among the 39 projects subject to in-depth scrutiny, there were also agreements that were suspected to have a “political bias”.

This group included projects that were suspected to have political bias. One case involved the family of a Civic Platform MP, another one - the family of a local government official from the Law and Justice Party. Both projects have proved to be HoReCa compliant at this stage of implementation

- the Minister emphasised.

The head of the MDFRP informed that in-depth audits of HoReCa grants would continue until mid-2026, while audits of the NRP as a whole would continue for many months beyond this date.

It is not the case that we finish a certain public investment project and the controls end. This control period continues for a long, long time afterwards, because projects are happening and full knowledge can be gained as to whether they are happening in accordance with the agreements signed

- said the head of the MDFRP.

EF and NRP checks

The Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy reported that since 2021, the MDFRP has carried out nearly 12 thousand of “planned, screening” checks on grants awarded to entrepreneurs from European funds. 1159 checks were carried out within the NRP.

The result of these checks shows that the irregularity rate for the European Funds is 0.1 per cent, for the NRP - 0.005 per cent

- Minister K. Pełczyńska-Nałęcz said.

She added that until August this year, 161 planned inspections had also been carried out in the HoReCa industry, leading to the detection of 16 irregularities and the termination of six agreements, resulting in the cancellation of subsidies of almost PLN 3 million.

The Minister stressed that, compared to other EU countries, the scale of irregularities in the spending of European funds is very limited. In 2024, the level of irregularities in EF spending for the EU as a whole was EUR 375 million, while for Poland it amounted to EUR 1.6 million, or less than 0.5 per cent of EU irregularities.

For years we have had a reputation of the country with exceptionally low irregularity rate compared to the Union. Poland is respected in the EU for that reason

- the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy emphasised.

Payments to HoReCa

The payments to the HoReCa sector - temporarily suspended - are now implemented. The money will be disbursed immediately as soon as the controlled agreement has passed verification.

NRP for HoReCa, tourism, culture

The HoReCa support programme was included in the 2022 NRP. It was created in response to the needs and expectations of the HoReCa industry and aims to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the hospitality, catering, tourism and culture sectors, the industries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. At that time, more than 60 per cent of companies in the sector reported a decline in revenue. The programme funds were allocated for expansion or re-profiling of companies to strengthen their resilience to future crisis situations.

Following the change of the government, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, decided to tighten the rules of the NRP support for the HoReCa sector. Hence, a one-year grace period for the purchase of durable goods was introduced in the programme. In addition, the level of income decline from which aid is granted has changed. In the first call (May-June 2024), the rate amounted to 30 per cent of the decline in turnover during Covid-19. Entrepreneurs who had difficulty with the fulfilment of the requirement were able to apply in the second call, when it was reduced to a 20 per cent loss of turnover.

Entrepreneurs could apply for the support from 6 May to 18 June 2024 and from 18 July to 31 October 2024. A total of more than 13 thousand applications were submitted in both calls.

By the time of the audit, more than 3 thousand contracts had been signed, amounting to PLN 1.2 billion, of which PLN 110 million had been paid out by 13 August 2025, i.e., less than 10 per cent. The average value of a project is approximately PLN 410 thousand.

The settlement of projects takes place by way of reimbursement only and funds are paid out after the approval of the requests for payment and the costs contained therein. The entrepreneur must also have its own contribution, a minimum of 10 per cent. In addition, VAT was a non-eligible expense.

The operators and their experts selected by PARP in the open call are responsible for the correct assessment of the applications. They include:

• Polska Fundacja Przedsiębiorczości [Polish Entrepreneurship Foundation] Szczecin,
• Towarzystwo Inwestycji Społeczno-Ekonomicznych S.A. [Social and Economic Investment Company, Joint-Stock Company] (TISE S.A.) Warsaw,
• Małopolska Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego S.A. [Małopolska Regional Development Agency, Joint-Stock Company] Kraków/Rzeszowska Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego [Rzeszów Regional Development Agency],
• Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego S.A. [Regional Development Agency, Joint-Stock Company] Bielsko-Biala,
• Fundacja Kaliski Inkubator Przedsiębiorczości [Kalisz Business Incubator Foundation] Kalisz.