They want to hire up to 100 people with salaries of around 15,000 PLN. Dispute over a new AI supervisory authority

• The draft law implementing the EU Artificial Intelligence Act is currently being considered by the Council of Ministers.
• It assumes, among other things, the creation of a strong, independent institution: the Commission for the Development and Security of Artificial Intelligence (KRiBSI) ​​with its own office, budget, and decision-making powers.
• KRiBSI caused considerable controversy in the industry, but after consultations, the Ministry of Digital Affairs relaxed the regulations introducing it.
• However, the Ministry of Finance opposes the establishment of a new office. It's a financial issue. It points out that if the Ministry of Finance wants such a body, it should pay for its operations itself.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs is working on a bill implementing the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. It is currently being reviewed by the EU Affairs Committee of the Council of Ministers. The Ministry of Finance has sent a letter to the committee that could slow down work on the bill.

Why does the Ministry of Digital Affairs want to establish a new commission?

A point of contention between the ministries is the establishment of the Commission for the Development and Security of Artificial Intelligence (KRiBSI). This body would oversee AI systems being developed in the country. This institution is one of the most important initiatives of the Ministry of Digital Affairs. There is no public institution in Poland that meets the requirements of the AI ​​Act .

According to the Ministry of Digital Affairs' concept, the new commission will be a collegial body composed of representatives from various state institutions already involved in technology, data protection, and security. The Ministry intends this to facilitate better cooperation between individual digital market regulators.

The Commission is to be served by an office. Although this is not explicitly stated in the law, the Ministry of Finance's regulatory impact assessment indicates that it will de facto be a separate office . It is precisely this formula that the Ministry of Finance opposes.

If you want an office, pay for it.

The Ministry of Finance is critical of the idea of ​​establishing a new office . Its position is that there is no need for it – the EU regulation, the provisions of which are implemented in the Polish legal system by the act, does not require the creation of a new budgetary unit.

It is not justified to create another entity of the public finance sector in the form of a budgetary unit, as a new office - emphasizes Jurand Drop, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Finance.

Instead, the Ministry of Finance proposes that KRiBSI be managed by an existing administrative structure, for example, a separate organizational unit within the Ministry of Digital Affairs. It points to the Digital Poland Project Center, which operates under a similar model, as an example.

Too many unknowns to give the green light

The Ministry of Finance also points out a number of inconsistencies in the draft bill . The ministry criticizes the lack of clarity regarding the precise nature of the Commission's Office – it is unclear what its legal form will be, what administrative structure it will operate within, or what part of the state budget will cover its costs. The Ministry emphasizes that such basic information should be clearly defined in the bill.

The mechanism for enforcing penalties also raises concerns. The draft bill envisages a model based on the solutions used by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. However, as the Ministry of Finance emphasizes, unlike the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the new commission does not have the formal status of an authority equal to that of a minister, which could lead to problems with enforcing sanctions .

The Ministry of Finance also expresses reservations regarding the costs and expenditure planning associated with the operation of the Commission's Office . One of the provisions criticized is the method of determining remuneration for KRiBSI management – ​​the draft stipulates that it should amount to at least 300% of the average salary in the economy . According to the Ministry, this mechanism, based on a percentage, leads to automatic salary increases and should be replaced with a specific amount.

The Ministry also points to imprecise provisions regarding the Office's funding sources – the draft does not clearly specify from which part of the state budget funds for its operations would come in subsequent years. Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance criticizes the staffing assumptions, according to which the Office would employ up to 100 people with an average salary of PLN 15,000 per month . As emphasized, the draft provides no justification for this number of positions or such high costs.