Official election results announced by the State Election Commission

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15/10/2019

Official election results announced by the State Election Commission — Telewizja Republika

Late last night, the Polish National Electoral Commission announced the final results of the elections to both of the chambers of Polish parliament. In summary, Law and Justice won the election in the lower house, gaining the highest support in history. This result allows them to continue their majority rule. The opposition has taken control of the Senate.

Law and Justice won the Polish parliamentary elections and once again secured a majority in the lower house, but won a simple majority in the Senate. Jarosław Kaczyński’s party received 43.59 percent of the votes. Second was the Civic Coalition with 27.40 % of the votes. Left Alliance came in third with 12.56%. The lower house entry has secured two more parties, the Polish People’s Party with 8.55% and „Confederation Liberty and Independence” with 6.81%.

Law and Justice will have 235 house seats, which equates to a majority rule in the 460 seats house. Civic Coalition will have 134 seats. 49 MPs will represent the Left alliance. The Polish People’s Party has secured 30 seats and the „Confederation Liberty and Independence” will take 11 seats.

In the upper house the majority will be in the hands of the opposition. Law and Justice has 48 seats and the other 52 will be held by other parties.

Shortly after the announcement of the election results, the leader of the Law and Justice party, Jarosław Kaczyński said that the high support for the party gives it a very strong mandate to govern.

– “Thanks to us, Polish politics has been moved to the next level. No political formation was able to reach the result that we have, no matter the amount or percentage of votes before. We’re very happy. I can say that we got the card to continue the good change, to continue our politics and to continue the change of Poland for the better. “

Enterpreneur TIme debate on TV Republika!

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redakcja

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13/06/2019

Enterpreneur TIme debate on TV Republika! — TVREpublika

The Minister of Investment and Development Jerzy Kwieciński, Deputy Head of the National Treasury Administration Paweł Cybulski, Spokesman for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SME) Adam Abramowicz, and experts and representatives of business circles took part in the Telewizja Republika debate organized as part of the Entrepreneur Time campaign.

The ‘Year of the Constitution of Business – challenges for the government and entrepreneurs’ debate, carried out in the form of a round table, took place on June 13th and was broadcast on TV Republika and interia.pl.

Participants of the debate agreed that while the reform of economic law prepared by the current government and implemented by passing a set of 5 acts known as the Constitution for Business, was an important step towards regulating the principles of running a business and guaranteeing rights to entrepreneurs, further improvements were necessary.

When assessing the functioning of the Business Constitution, SME spokesman Adam Abramowicz pointed to the problematic approach of many lower-level officials in dealing with entrepreneurs, stating that a change in mentality was needed.

Asked whether the government has plans to verify people running a business, referred to as the “entrepreneur test”, Deputy Head of the National Treasury Administration Paweł Cybulski assured that any rumors on this subject were “absurd and detached from reality” and that the aim is to build the friendliest possible relations between entrepreneurs and tax administration.

The participants of the debate agreed that campaigns like “Entrepreneur’s Time” are a good way of exchanging opinions between business communities and representatives of government administration. The aim of the project, initiated by TV Republika, is to present the problems faced by entrepreneurs in their daily activities and to work out proposals to solve them. Particularly important are the voices of the smallest, small and medium-sized enterprises, which constitute as much as 99.8 percent of all companies in Poland, produce almost half of the GDP and employ almost 70 percent of the people working in the enterprise sector.

“We assume the large companies will manage just fine. It has always been easier for them to reach decision makers. That’s why we decided to give a voice to medium, small and the smallest companies. Their significance for the economy is great, but their voice often isn’t heard”, said the vice president of the TV Republika board, Tomasz Sakiewicz.

The “Year of the Business Constitution – challenges for the government and entrepreneurs” debate was a summary of the “Entrepreneurs Time” campaign. Apart from this, experts participated in three other debates held in the TV Republika studio, devoted to the most important dilemmas and challenges faced by the Polish economy. Discussions focused on the fiscal burdens of small and medium-sized enterprises, European integration in the context of decisions on joining the euro area and changes in the labor market.

A website was also launched as part of the campaign, through which entrepreneurs can pass on their opinions and describe problems that constitute which greatest barriers in their activities.

Enterpreneur TIme live on TV Republika!

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redakcja

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13/06/2019

Enterpreneur TIme live on TV Republika! — TVREpublika

On June 13th we invite you to the Telewizja Republika channel for our ‘Entrepreneur Time’ event, which will air at 12.15pm.n June 13th we invite you to the Telewizja Republika channel for our ‘Entrepreneur Time’ event, which will air at 12.15pm.

Minister of Investment and Development Jerzy Kwieciński, deputy head of the National Treasury Administration Paweł Cybulski, spokesman for small and medium entrepreneurs Adam Abramowicz, as well as experts and representatives of business circles will take part in ‘Entrepreneur Time’.

‘Entrepreneur Time’ partners include RAFAKO Grupa PBG (Strategic Partner), PKN Orlen (Main Partner) and FAKRO and PKO BP.

Polish economy grew 4.7% in the first quarter of 2019 and growth continues

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redakcja

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31/05/2019

Polish economy grew 4.7% in the first quarter of 2019 and growth continues — Shutterstock

The Polish economy grew 4.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year, the country’s Central Statistical Office (GUS) said, presenting its final estimate. And the prospects for continued growth remain good.

This figure is 0.1 per centage points above the 4.6 per cent flash estimate which the statistical office released earlier this month. Polish GDP grew by 4.9 per cent in the final quarter of last year and grew by 5.1 per cent in 2018 as a whole according to GUS.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) earlier this month upgraded its forecast for Poland’s GDP growth to 4.2 per cent, from a previous projection of 4 per cent.

The European Commission also raised its forecasts in May, announcing that it expected the Polish economy to expand by 4.2 per cent in 2019 as a whole, rather than by the 3.5 per cent it had predicted in February. It also raised its 2020 GDP growth forecast for Poland to 3.6 per cent from 3.2 per cent.

If the latest forecasts prove accurate, Poland will be the second fastest-growing economy in the EU this year, outpaced only by Malta, the state news agency PAP reported. “Private consumption is set to remain the key growth driver in 2019 and 2020 supported by a robust increase in wages,” the Commission said in its Spring 2019 Economic Forecast. It added: “An increase in social transfers will act as additional stimulus until around mid-2020.”

The report also noted that the growth in Polish GDP of 5.1 per cent in 2018 was the fastest in more than a decade. Indeed, Poland achieved the third fastest growth in the European Union in 2018, with only Ireland and Malta performing better out of the 28 member states, according to the European Commission’s report in February.

This continued good news for the economy is yet another reason why the governing Law and Justice party, fresh from success in last week’s elections to the European parliament, may look forward to the Polish parliamentary elections this autumn with confidence.

Strong retail sales and construction output outperform expectations.

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redakcja

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23/05/2019

Strong retail sales and construction output outperform expectations. — Shutterstock

Retail sales in Poland rose 13.6 per cent in April compared with the same month a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office (GUS) said on Thursday. Construction output also increased.

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco products increased by 21.5 per cent in year-on-year terms, while sales of furniture, consumer electronics and household appliances were up by 20.3 per cent. Sales of fuels rose 10 per cent and those of motor vehicles and automotive parts increased by 9.1 per cent. In real terms, retail sales last month were 11.9 per cent higher than in April 2018, GUS reported.

Spending during the Easter holidays was stronger than a year ago. And retail sales in these sectors are expected to remain strong in these categories in the next few months, given the introduction of fiscal programmes including a lump sum pay out to pensioners this in May and an extension of child benefits in July. Overall, private consumption is forecast by ING to accelerate from approximately 4.2 per cent in the first quarter to 4.4 per cent in the current quarter and exceed 5 per cent year on year in the third quarter.

Construction output also remained good, increasing from 10.8 per cent to 17.4 per cent on a year on year basis. The strong increase was related to spending on infrastructure projects with growth in this category expanding by 32.7 per cent year on year. However, the construction of buildings was less dramatic at 3.9 per cent year on year, likely due to a slowdown in housing activity.

According to initial GUS data, investment outlays in big companies (employing 50+ workers) rose by 21.7 per cent year on year, mainly due to expenditure on vehicles and building construction. A moderation of infrastructure spending is expected in the coming months and still soft growth in the construction of dwellings. Therefore, investment is projected to decelerate from approximately 7% in the first half of 2019 to 5% in the second half.

Overall, the data points to strong GDP growth in the second quarter, with ING increasing its forecast for GDP growth in the second quarter from 4.3 per cent to 4.4 to 4.5 per cent, slightly below quarter one’s 4.6 per cent.

EU judges say Poland's retail tax is not state aid

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redakcja

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20/05/2019

EU judges say Poland's retail tax is not state aid — Shutterstock

The Court of Justice of European Union (“ECJ”) has ruled that Poland may tax larger retailers more heavily than smaller ones. This overturns a decision from state aid regulators and raises the possibility that the tax regime for larger retailers which is currently suspended could be reinstated.

The ECJ decided that “the Polish progressive tax on the retail sector was incorrectly classified as state aid by the EU Commission,” the press service of the ECJ wrote on Twitter. This tax policy was one of the governing Law and Justice party’s main election promises during the 2015 election and came into force in September 2016. It was part of a series of measures designed to fund social spending pledges, which in the end the government managed to finance without the implementation of the retail tax.

Under the scheme, retailers with monthly revenue of over 170 million zlotys ($44 million) were to be taxed more heavily than their smaller shops, many of which had come under pressure from larger chains that were able to benefit from economies of scale to offer lower prices.

However, in 2017 the European Commission ruled that the measures constituted state aid and were thus illegal under EU law. The EU ordered the Polish government to suspend the tax and Poland appealed to the ECJ in Luxembourg. “It is not possible to exclude tax rates from the substance of a system of taxation as the Commission did,” the ECJ said in a statement.

Polish Finance Ministry spokesman Pawel Jurek said on Twitter that as the judgment is not legally binding and could be appealed against, the tax would remain suspended until the end of 2019. “The Commission will carefully study the judgment and based on that may take any potential next steps,” said a spokesman for the EU executive at its daily briefing.

President signs into law extension of 500+ programme to benefit all children

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redakcja

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16/05/2019

President signs into law extension of 500+ programme to benefit all children — Shutterstock

Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, has signed into law the plan by the country’s governing Law and Justice Party to offer benefits to all families with children.

The bill was signed into law at a special ceremony at the presidential palace in Warsaw after it had been passed earlier in May by an 82 to 0 vote, with two abstentions, in the Senate, the upper house of the Polish parliament. It had been earlier overwhelmingly approved by the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament.

Last month the Polish government decided to expand its flagship child benefit programme to include all families with children under 18, regardless of family income. The prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, told reporters at the time that the “Family 500+” programme, which was launched on 1^st April 2016, had opened up new prospects for Polish families and encouraged them to have more children.

In a statement in March, Morawiecki had said that the programme, introduced by the Law and Justice government three years ago, was an investment in the nation’s future. Elżbieta Rafalska, the social policy minister, had told reporters then that the “Family 500+” initiative was benefiting more than 3.6 million children nationwide. In mid-April she said that the Polish government’s family support system would cover 6.8 million children after it was expanded in July.

It has been the policy of the Law and Justice government, which came to power in October 2015, to seek to ease the burdens of bringing up children by giving families with two or more children a payment of PLN 500 (EUR 116, USD 130) per month per child. Poorer families receive the allowance even if they have just one child.

Under new law, the “Family 500+” programme will be expanded to include all single-child families regardless of income. The new rules will come into effect on July 1. Poland currently spends 2.7 percent of its GDP on state benefits for families and children—one of the highest figures in the European Union.

11th European Economic Congress Begins in Katowice

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redakcja

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13/05/2019

11th European Economic Congress Begins in Katowice

The 11th European Economic Congress began in Katowice on Monday. It is one of the most significant economic and business events to be held in central Europe, and will this year see more than 150 debates take place discussing the future of Europe’s economies, businesses, and more.

Amidst a turbulent Brexit and an expected rise of populist parties in the upcoming European elections the EEC is expected to focus on how European economies might work together in the future, potential trade deals and business with a newly-independent United Kingdom, and other international matters.

Polish energy policy will be another major issue discussed, with the Ministry of Energy discussing plans leading up to 2040.

Founder of the EEC and President of the PTWP (Polish Society for Entrepreneurship Support) Wojciech Kuśpik announced the event, saying:

“It’s the eleventh time that we’re meeting with opinion leaders in international circles at the European Economic Congress in Katowice. On 13-15 May 2019 we’ll be sharing experiences and knowledge, discussing the key issues for the European economy, matters of importance for the development of Poland as well as problems and challenges in business from the point of view of the “average entrepreneur”.

The topic of the future of the European Union is no doubt set to be an uncomfortable one.

Poland's PM: Poland will not pay damages – we should receive them

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redakcja

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13/05/2019

Poland's PM: Poland will not pay damages - we should receive them — Shutterstock

“We will often find compensation if we think more of what life has given us and less about what life has taken away.” The words of Scots theologian William Barclay which, while no doubt a wise philosophical approach, cut little ice in the modern mercenary milieu, especially if there are grievances to be assuaged. Thus, the Polish foreign ministry has announced the cancellation of a planned visit by Israeli officials because it seemed Israel wished the talks to focus on the restitution of property that once belonged to Jews.

The foreign ministry wrote in a statement on its website: “Poland decided to cancel the visit of Israeli officials after the Israeli side made last minute changes in the composition of the delegation suggesting that the talks would primarily focus on issues related to property restitution.” This announcement came as the Polish government is working on legislation to protect the country against any claims for compensation arising out of the Second World War.

The leader of Poland’s governing Law and Justice party, Jarosław Kaczyński, said earlier this month that Poland had no financial obligations arising from the wartime years “in terms of the law” and “elementary morality.” Rather, he said, over EUR 1 trillion in war reparations could be owed to Poland, which suffered massive damage at the hands of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

The issue has become sensitive since United States President Donald Trump signed a year ago the Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act, by which the US State Department is expected to report to Congress on what steps countries in Europe have taken to compensate Holocaust survivors and their heirs for property seized under Nazi German occupation and communism.

Speaking in an interview at the time, Poland’s foreign minister, Jacek Czaputowicz, said that the JUST Act did “not offer any legal instruments” and was “not just” because it divided Polish citizens into “Jews and non-Jews.” “There can be no discrimination against non-Jews, and the majority of those to whom restitution applies are people of Polish nationality,” he said.

Michał Dworczyk, head of the Polish prime minister’s office, told public broadcaster Polish Radio earlier this month that the US law had no legal force in Poland and that “it is regrettable that some people are trying to use for political ends the fact that such a document has been adopted in the United States.” The US Special Representative to monitor and combat anti-semitism, Elan Carr, gave an assurance that the United States has no intention of dictating anything in the matter of the Holocaust victims and that the JUST Act does not oblige Poland to do anything in respect of the property lost by the victims.

Most of Poland’s large Jewish population – some thee million people or ten per cent of the country’s population at the time – was murdered by the occupying Nazi forces during the Second World War. After the war, the communist government confiscated large amounts of property and nationalised it. Most of the owners of the nationalised property were non-Jewish Poles.

Be that as it may, the issue requires some decisive action if it is not to fester ad infinitum. Unlike many other European countries, Poland has not enacted specific legislation to deal with restitution or compensation claims, although it has been possible to make claims on the basis of the facts in individual cases. However, that process is far from straight forward. This, and the passage of time, as we saw in Restitution, also increases the scope for skulduggery by those so minded.

Successive Polish governments have said they cannot afford to compensate the victims. A restitution scheme was being prepared by the Polish government, but this was suspended in 2011 in the economic downturn in the wake of the financial crisis, and, although Poland’s economic position is stronger now, no new legislation has been forthcoming.

Indeed, in the face of a rally in Warsaw on Saturday by nationalist groups rejecting any calls for Poland to pay compensation on the grounds that Poles themselves were the primary victims on Nazi atrocities, prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki told state-run PAP news at an election rally: “We will not allow any damages to be paid to anyone because it is us who should get damages”.

If progress is to be made, both sides will have to be realistic. While simply saying that loss should lie where it fell is no answer, nor is using the issue as stick to beat successive Polish governments, without acknowledging the particular circumstances of Poland.