Minister Buczyńska announces transparency at NIW

On Thursday, in the Sejm, Minister for civilian Society, Agnieszka Buczyńska, provided information on the request to carry out checks at the National Institute of Freedom, whose completion is near.

She besides declared that NGOs could anticipate to shortly unlock funds allocated to their activities. Responding to the request of Mr Piotr Gliński of Law and Justice (PiS) to suspend support for 2024 for nearly PLN 250 million, Buczyńska stressed that she was thoroughly acquainted with the projects implemented so far.

The Minister reported that in consequence to many worrying signals regarding the distribution of funds by the National Institute of Freedom, it was decided to carry out a review of the competition procedures for granting funds to NGOs. During the ongoing audit at NIW, a number of irregularities were identified during her predecessor's time, including problems with organizing a volunteer gala on TVP.

Minister Buczyńska: measures will be unlocked

Minister Buczyńska assured that funds would be unblocked shortly to guarantee that crucial activities of the non-governmental sector were financed.

It besides committed to ensuring that the financing process would be conducted in an open and transparent manner to guarantee that all applications were assessed by independent experts, based on clear and fair procedures. The Minister powerfully stated that she would not let the repetition of past practices that led to divisions in the NGO sector to happen and besides assured that there would be no area for political prejudice in the distribution of funds.

What is NIW?

The National Institute of Freedom – Centre for the improvement of civilian Society (NIW-CRSO) is simply a Polish state institution whose main task is to support and advance the improvement of civilian society, as well as civilian initiatives and volunteering in Poland. The Institute was created as a consequence of the transformation of the civilian Initiative Fund, which has been operating since 2005. The authoritative launch of NIW-CRSO took place in 2018.

Source: PAP