Poland to get first 5 billion euros in EU funds this year

European Union will transfer to Poland this year a first 5 billion euros ($5.5 bln) of financial aid that was until now mostly frozen over democratic backsliding, the bloc's chief executive and the country's new prime minister said on Friday. Poland's new Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed to restore the rule of law in the EU's largest eastern state after ousting from power the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) that fought bitter battles with the EU for nearly a decade over democratic rights.