A planned 23 percent cut in EU cohesion funds for Poland under the bloc’s new budget is unacceptable, the Polish government spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

"This division [of funds] is unacceptable to Central European countries," spokeswoman Joanna Kopcińska told state broadcaster Polish Radio.

Poland will receive EUR 64.4 billion in cohesion policy funds under the European Union’s new budget, roughly 23 percent less than under the old budget, Polish Radio has reported, citing what it described as unofficial sources.

Poland will be the country that will suffer the largest cuts, the Polish PAP news agency reported, adding that the information did not come from official EU sources.

The European Commission was due to officially announce details of the EU's 2021-2027 budget later on Tuesday.

Poland is entitled to almost EUR 84 billion in cohesion policy funds under the bloc’s 2014-2020 budget according to 2018 prices, Polish Radio reported.

Despite the impending cut, Poland will remain the largest beneficiary of the EU’s cohesion policy, ahead of Italy, which will receive EUR 38.6 billion from 2021 to 2027, according to the PAP news agency.

The Polish Minister for European Affairs, Konrad Szymański, was quoted as saying in mid-May that Warsaw would not accept “revolutionary” cuts in the EU budget.

The EU's cohesion policy aims to support job creation, business competitiveness, economic growth and sustainable development and to improve quality of life.

(pk/gs)

Source: PAP/IAR