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Post by pieter on Nov 29, 2009 16:22:25 GMT -7
Operational Programme 'Innovative economy' for PolandProgramme under the Convergence Objective, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)On 1 October 2007, the European Commission approved an Operational Programme for Poland for the 2007-13 period. The “ Innovative economy” Operational Programme falls within the Convergence Objective framework and has a total budget of around €9.71 billion. Community assistance through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) amounts to some €8.25 billion, which represents approximately 12.3% of the total EU investment earmarked for Poland under the Cohesion Policy for 2007-13.
Aim and purpose of the programmeIn the fields of support for enterprises, research and development ( R&D) and information and communication technologies ( ICT), the “ Innovative economy” Operational Programme for 2007-2013 is the second large-scale, multi-annual program of its kind – after the sectoral Operational Programme “ Improvement of the Competitiveness of Enterprises” (2004-06). The programme will be an important tool for realising the objectives laid down in the revised Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs – allocating nearly 95% of its budget toward those ends. Expected impact of investmentsThe Programme aims to create 70 000 new jobs, 28 000 of which are for women. The Programme aims also to create 60 projects in the field of R&D. Estimates predict that some 1200 enterprises will likely benefit from services provided by specialized research laboratories that receive financial support. In Poland, the number of persons employed in R&D activity will likely increase from 123 431 to around 150 000.
Priority axesSpecific objectives of the Operational Programme include: * improving enterprise innovativeness * improving the scientific community’s competitiveness in Poland * strengthening economic development through good science * increasing the international market share of innovative products made in Poland * creating permanent and better places to work * boosting ICT usage in Poland’s economy. The “ Innovative economy” Operational Programme is structured along the following priority axes: Research and development of new technologies [approximately 13.4% of total funding]The objective of this priority axis seeks to broaden the role the scientific community plays in Poland’s economy. Implementation of the economic development strategy, based on innovative enterprises, calls for closer cooperation between the scientific and business communities. The R&D sector in Poland is not sufficiently equipped to provide adequate scientific support to local entrepreneurs operating in an increasingly competitive international environment. This shortfall maintains the technological gap between Poland’s economy and the more innovative economies of the world, including those of other EU Member States. Therefore, to realise the contribution potential the scientific community holds for Poland’s economy it is necessary to strengthen its R&D sector activity. Incentives that can persuade the business community to employ R&D produced in Poland and that can, simultaneously, encourage local scientists to pursue R&D activities that better satisfy the needs of local entrepreneurs will produce closer cooperation between each of these two communities. R&D infrastructure [approximately 13.4% of total funding]This priority axis seeks to increase the competitiveness within the scientific community in Poland by modernising its IT infrastructure and consolidating the scientific research among the best scientific entities operating in Poland. Obsolete equipment often hampers advanced research in Poland. Inefficient use of its existing, yet scattered, R&D infrastructure leads also to below standard research. The displacement of specialised equipment also creates an inability to carry out large, often multidisciplinary projects, including those of an international scale. In sum, there is an urgent need for investment in Poland’s R&D infrastructure. Establishment of modern research centres, equipped with the most current technology, capable of taking up the most ambitious tasks in the R&D area, will make it possible to conduct high quality research. R&D infrastructure upgrades will also allow the scientific community in Poland to raise its technical staff training activity to international standards. Moreover, centres such as these will contribute to the implementation of more innovative technological solutions faster. Capital for innovation [approximately 3.5% of total funding]The objective of this priority axis is to increase the number of enterprises using innovative solutions and to improve access to external financial resources that encourage innovative undertakings. Poland’s economy is characterised by inadequate levels of innovation caused by insufficient levels of financial support offered by local entrepreneurs and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular. The main reason for this shortfall is the lack of adequate financial backing for investments of this calibre. A diagnosis of the economic situation reveals that entrepreneurs are unwilling to invest in innovative projects characterised by risks that carry relatively high exposure over extended periods of time. This means that there is a serious gap between perceived cost/benefit risk- and time-horizons for available investment capital. Consequently, it is often impossible to acquire capital for endeavours that may carry higher risk; the consequences for which limit investment to short-term projects that yield relatively low value. This is notably the case for, otherwise, highly innovative SMEs that are nevertheless in their early stages of growth. Therefore, public intervention is justified in these cases, as public intervention can increase investments levels toward innovative solutions that offer the public both economic and technological benefits. Likewise, due to the insufficient number of start-up innovative enterprises, it is necessary to introduce incentives that support the establishment of companies founded upon innovative ideas. Investments in innovative undertakings [approximately 35.3% of total funding]This priority axis seeks to increase the level of competitiveness of enterprises through the application of new solutions. Currently, the main sources of competitive advantage of enterprises operating in Poland reply on low labour costs and a large domestic market. In terms of development trends and advanced globalisation, however, sustainable growth can only be guaranteed by enhancing competitive advantages based on innovative solutions. This means that enterprises that wish to face international competition should invest in the latest solutions that enable them to strengthen their competitive position in the market. This particularly includes the involvement of entrepreneurs toward pursing activities in the field of R&D. Consequently, public intervention under this priority axis will focus on support for undertakings related to development, implementation and transfer of technologically and organisationally innovative solutions. Diffusion of innovation [approximately 4.1% of total funding]The objective of this priority axis is to: * provide entrepreneurs with high quality services and infrastructure aimed at strengthening and pursuing their innovative potential * strengthen the competitive position of enterprises through the development of cooperative relationships. Due to intense and constant cooperation between the producers and the beneficiaries of innovative solutions, the diffusion of innovation becomes possible. This cooperation often facilitates results that entities could never have otherwise attained on their own. Cooperation among entrepreneurs as well as between entrepreneurs and business support institutions (mainly scientific entities) creates conditions that facilitate: * new technological and organisational solutions development and diffusion * know-how exchanges * resources utilisation improvement Polish economy on the international market [approximately 4.2% of total funding]This priority axis seeks to improve the image of Poland as an attractive economic partner; as a place to develop good trade contacts; as well as an attractive place for investments; and economic activity and development of tourist services. The image of Poland on the international market is unsatisfactory, which means that public intervention is necessary. Public intervention will create synergies between the interacting areas of sales promotion on the Single European Market, while attracting new investments and the economic and tourist promotion of Poland. The system of investment and trade exchange service and support must still be strengthened. Information society – establishment of electronic administration [approximately 8.1% of total funding]This priority axis aims at improving the conditions for undertaking economic activity through an increase of the accessibility of public administration information resources and digital public services. The position of Poland’s economy on the international market, especially in the European Community, hinges on wide access to public information and electronic services provided to citizens and entrepreneurs through public resources. Increasing the use of ICT by public administrations will make it possible to increase the effectiveness of their services. Increased public administration ICT usage will also have a positive effect on administrative costs in general. Solutions foreseen under this priority axis will help facilitate economic activity by removing barriers between business and public administration as well as by improving the possibility to use public information resources by entrepreneurs. Information society – increasing the innovativeness of the economy [approximately 14.6% of total funding]This priority axis seeks to stimulate the development of the digital economy by supporting the creation of new and innovative e-services as well as innovative electronic solutions for business. This development support will reduce the technological, economic and mental resistance against the use of these kinds of services in society. The implementation of modern ICT creates the possibility to optimize the functioning of enterprises and directly affects innovativeness and competitiveness. ICT stimulates changes in an organization, influences business models in enterprises and boosts investments in human capital. An increase in the use of ICT in enterprises and related organizational changes exert an essential influence on the growth of Gross Domestic Product ( GDP). Increasing the number of entities running their own businesses is crucial for the economic development of Poland. The support for enterprises of the SME sector includes providing broadband access to the Internet.
Technical assistance [approximately 3.4% of total funding]This priority axis seeks to ensure support for the management, implementation and monitoring processes of the Programme and to ensure that Community funds and national resources are used effectively and in compliance with the law. One of the conditions for absorption of Community funds is to provide appropriate administrative potential. This requires substantial financial outlays for providing efficient management, implementation, information, monitoring and evaluation of the „ Innovative economy” Operational Programme. Managing Authority
Ministry of Regional DevelopmentDepartment for the Management of the Competitiveness and Innovativeness Programmesul. Wspólna 2/4 PL-00-926 Warszawa Anita Wesołowska P.S. - This was 2007, I wonder how this important program works today! Pieter Source: ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/country/prordn/details_new.cfm?gv_PAY=PL&gv_reg=ALL&gv_PGM=1204&LAN=7&gv_per=2&gv_defL=7
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Post by pieter on Nov 29, 2009 16:30:41 GMT -7
Research and Markets: Poland Information Technology Report 2009
Dublin, Nov 19, 2009
Market Overview Poland is expected to maintain its status as one of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region's fastest growing IT markets over the 2009-2013 forecast period, thanks largely to EU funding for information and communication technology (ICT)-related initiatives. The size of the Polish IT market is estimated to increase from US$7.6bn in 2009 to around US$10.7bn in 2013. The current global economic headwinds will mean slower growth in 2009 and 2010 compared with the 2006-2008 trend level.
Industry Developments Poland's National IT Infrastructure Plan for 2007-2013 was formally adopted by the government in 2008, following a public sector IT spending slowdown in preceding years. In 2008 new funding drove a series of tenders, with the information technology component to be worth nearly EUR1bn. According to Poland's National IT Infrastructure Plan, some 75% of funds spent on government IT projects over the next five years is expected to come from the EU.
The wireless internet access will grow rapidly during 2009. Poland's broadband operators are also encouraging xDSL and cable-based broadband take-up by offering new innovative services, such as IPTV, video on demand (VOD) and VoIP in double- and triple-play packages. Such services will encourage subscriptions and drive spending on computers and other household electronics products.
Competitive Landscape In H109, Dell said that it would move its European manufacturing base from Ireland to Poland and cut 1,900 out of 3,000 jobs at its Limerick plant. Previously there had been speculation that US giant Dell planned to dispose of a number of production facilities in Poland. This was despite the fact that Dell's latest plant in Poland was launched only in January 2008, with Dell spending EUR200mn to reduce supply time to European clients. Meanwhile, in May 2009, IBM signed a contact with the Ministry of Science and Education that provided for the establishment of an IBM research centre in Wroclaw. Wroclaw is also the among locations competing for a new IBM service centre, which is expected to create 3,000 new jobs. In 2008 IBM included Poland for the first time in its list of key exceptionally high-growth developing countries.
Computer Sales Poland's computer hardware sales are projected at US$3.1bn in 2009 and are forecast to reach around US$4.1bn in 2013. The Polish addressable market for computers is estimated at around 2.9mn units sold in 2009, and this annual total could increase to 5.3mn by the end of BMI's forecast period. Despite some encouraging indications in Q209, H209 is likely to be a more difficult year because of the impact of the global financial crisis. PC penetration reached around 50% in 2008, and BMI projects that it could reach 70% by 2013. Falling prices of both desktops and notebooks have been a major growth driver for the hardware market, along with EU aid and overall economic recovery. Research has revealed that Poles are starting to purchase more high-end computers.
The software market is projected to be worth US$1.7bn in 2009 and is likely to grow to US$2.4bn by 2013, giving a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10%. Even before the economic slowdown there were signs that the large company market for basic enterprise resource planning (ERP) software was becoming saturated. This has encouraged vendors to target growth from upgrades to existing clients, as well as sales to smaller companies. Rising computer penetration in the enterprise sector has driven continued growth, despite the software piracy issue. The procurement of basic software packages such as ERP still accounts for about half of enterprise software spending, particularly in the manufacturing sector. However, vendors are increasingly focused on more specialised applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and business intelligence, where faster growth is possible.
IT services spending, projected at US$3.0bn in 2009, is the fastest growing sector of the IT market and is expected to rise to US$4.3bn by 2013. In 2009 vendors are expected to benefit from IT projects tendered across sectors ranging from universities to banks and financial institutions, utilities and the public sector. However, overall spending growth is expected to decelerate. With a larger installed IT base, acceptance of the need for IT services is spreading through many organisations. While systems integration and hardware and software support and installation still collectively account for more than one-half of total IT spending, outsourcing has become the fastest growing segment.
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Post by pieter on Nov 29, 2009 16:48:21 GMT -7
British Polish Chamber of Commerce
What will Poland's economy be doing in 2009
As the world faces its worst financial crisis in living memory, investors everywhere are looking for safe havens in choppy waters. What will things be like in Poland? Will Poland continue to be a safe and profitable place in which to invest?
The consensus of economists forecast that Poland’s economy will grow by somewhere between 2% and 3% this year – slower than in past years, where 5% to 7% growth has been achieved – but nevertheless a cracking performance by the standards of western Europe, where economies will shrink.
Surely it can’t be that good? Well, there are areas that are facing difficulties. Poland’s banks, three-quarters of which are foreign owned, are dramatically reigning back their lending. There’s precious few new loans being made now, this situation (globally) will change once the banks have all had their balance sheets and accounts for 2008 audited towards the end of Q1. Only then, with a truer picture of their structure of their loan portfolios emerging, will they be able to lend to one another with any degree of trust.
This will be good news to the beleaguered property development sector. Over-supply in the luxury segment (a bubble in its own right, regardless of what was happening abroad) coupled to general difficulties in obtaining loans to finance construction, means that the sector has virtually ground to a halt, especially in high-end residential.
Poland’s automotive sector is hard hit too – especially those who are dependent on export sales. The entire supply chain is hurting. But there are bright spots. Domestic car sales are up (first 11 months of 2008 saw a 9% rise compared to the same period in 2007). Fiat, Poland’s biggest car producer, upped production by 80%, driven by demand for its new 500 model. The Polish used car market also had a boom year in 2008, with more than 1.1 million used cars coming in mainly from Germany. This suggests that at all levels of society, consumer spending has held up well. Shops did a roaring trade before Christmas – the word wyprzedaż (sale) was rarely seen in the windows of Warsaw’s shop – and while the number and value of property transactions has indeed fallen, consumer confidence remains strong.
One reason why Polish consumers were still feeling confident towards the end of 2008 is that throughout last year, unemployment continued to fall. The number of registered unemployed people in Poland’s largest cities is tiny – in Poznań, for instance, only 1.6% of the population is registered as jobless – a mere 5,000 people in a city of 600,000. While unemployment in the UK has been rising, in Poland it’s at its lowest level since 1991.
Compared to other countries in the CEE region, Poland was in sound macroeconomic shape as the world plunged into financial turmoil; this impetus may well be sufficient to carry it over the gulf that’s opening up before the world’s economies. Industrial production in October 2008 in Poland grew faster than in any other EU Member State. Along with Czech Republic, Poland is forecast by the OECD as its least affected members. Indeed, those who remember the last slowdown in Poland (2001-02) can gain some comfort from the OECD’s forecast that this slowdown will be significantly more mild than past Polish economic troughs.
While there has been strong growth in Polish consumer credit and mortgage lending, the level is still very modest by western standards. In 2007, the UK’s combined mortgage debt per capita was €28,760, when in Poland it was a mere €940 – thirty times less. And note that Poland has an even higher owner-occupancy rate (75%) than the UK (70%). These contrasting figures from the European Mortgage Federation show that Poland has not been living beyond its means – Poland’s GDP per capita is $11,000 compared to $46,000 (four times smaller). And between 60% and 70% of Poland’s SME sector is believed to be financed entirely out of its own cash.
Although average earnings in Poland grew strongly in 2008 (another reason why consumers feel confident), they are still way below UK wage rates. In many Polish provinces, average annual salaries are a little over £7,000. Even in Mazowsze, where Warsaw earnings have pushed up the average, it is just under £11,000.
Those export-dependent manufacturers that have already had to lay off staff found that their former employees were quickly soaked up by other employers, especially in cities like Wroclaw and Krakow.
Where’s the upside? The shift to outsourcing services and business processes to Poland will continue apace, though maybe not to overheated local markets such as Krakow. Those global companies that already have shared service centres or call centres in Poland are growing them, as they trim costs further from more expensive locations in western Europe.
Over the past quarter, the BPCC has seen an increasing number of inquiries from UK companies eager to either trade with or invest in Poland. British CEOs, seeking a market that offers growth and stability at the same time, should take a good, close look at Poland. A pound that’s competitive against the euro (the pound lost nearly 20% in value to the euro in 2008) means that British exporters can compete effectively in Poland against German, French and Italian manufacturers. And Poland’s consumer spending is forecast to remain strong in 2009, even though capital investment will not grow by much, if at all. Britain’s trade performance (in sterling, anyway) with Poland was robust – with exports in the first ten months of 2008 growing at 19% compared to the same period in 2007.
One key reason why Poland will stay afloat economically in coming years will be EU structural and cohesion funds – all €68 billion – which are to be spent by 2015/16 on infrastructure (€28 billion), human resources (€13 billion), innovation (€9 billion), environmental protection, regional development and modernisation of agriculture. This money will change the way Poland looks and functions.
Poland above all needs infrastructure – roads, railways, ports, airports, power stations, water treatment plants, public buildings, and it needs them desperately. The impending Euro2012 football finals will concentrate the minds of Poland’s government centrally and regionally; Poland needs six stadiums, 300 new hotels, 800km of roads, five airport terminals, refurbishment of railways, road infrastructure in six cities, plus new buses, trams and trains. Poland’s public sector is well poised to be a major investment platform – British companies have not yet exploited the new opportunities emerging in this area.
In the light of a global slowdown, UK companies still focused on growth must investigate Poland as a trade and investment opportunity in 2009.
For further information:
Michael Dembinski
British Polish Chamber of Commerce
tel: +48 (0)22 320 0105 / +48 (0)606 969 200
email: policy@bpcc.org.pl
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Post by pieter on Nov 29, 2009 16:58:32 GMT -7
Warsaw Business Journal
Polish Economy
Deficit of ideas
23rd November 2009
Poland's economy may be outperforming those of its EU peers, but public debt is approaching dangerous levels. With next year's elections fast approaching, the government seems to have little appetite for difficult reform. WBJ asks the experts how best to solve Poland's fiscal woes
When Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski announced at the beginning of September that the 2010 budget deficit would amount to nearly double the amount planned for 2009, his statement was met with shock, but little panic. The government repeatedly assured the nation that the zł.52.5 billion deficit could be kept under control through large revenues from privatizations and other means.
Two months after offering these assurances, however, Civic Platform (PO) – the leading party in government – seems to be losing its cool. New forecasts put next year’s public debt at a level precariously close to 55 percent of GDP, the second of three debt thresholds set out in Polish law. That the 50 percent level will be exceeded is certain.
The government predicts a close shave in 2010 – a public debt equaling 54.7 percent of GDP. Even worse, the European Commission has forecast next year’s public debt in Poland at 59.7 percent of GDP, which would put Poland on the precipice of the final, 60 percent debt threshold. If this threshold is crossed, extreme public spending cuts would be triggered in 2012. That could cripple Poland’s economy.
According to Janusz Zieliński, an economic expert from the Business Centre Club, the situation is grim. Even if the government manages to avoid disaster next year, Poland may not be so lucky in two years’ time.
“We are almost certain to exceed the [55 percent] threshold in 2011,” he said. The Polish Monetary Policy Council (RPP) has expressed the same sentiment, and has cast doubt on whether privatization will bring in sufficient funds to keep public debt within safe levels.
Privatization once seemed a panacea for the government’s budget woes, but no longer. Worse, there seems to be no plan B. The government has firmly stated that it does not plan to increase taxes, but at the same time it is exploring other solutions with what seems to be wanton disregard for its own pro-business credentials.
Most of the ideas it has put forward over the past few weeks have met with general disapproval, but new and better plans seem to be in short supply among experts and the political opposition.
A time to privatize
The privatization of state-owned companies met with general approval from the experts contacted by WBJ. This however seems to be the only solution that is both politically feasible and beneficial for the economy.
Unfortunately the government is caught in a predicament – the cause of its desperation to privatize, the economic slowdown, is also the main reason it is having difficulty selling its assets. Earlier this year the government set its privatization goal at an ambitious zl.37 billion by the end of 2010. However, it has already failed to earn the amount it planned for this year – zl.12 billion – due to the botched sale of energy group Enea and a lack of interest in the sale of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The chances of earning zl.37 billion before 2011 are slim. Maja Goettig, chief economist at Bank BPH, predicted that the government would manage to obtain just 60-70 percent of that figure.
All the experts contacted by WBJ said that the government should step up its efforts to privatize, although Adam Smith Center expert Ireneusz Jabłoński believes that the government should shift its focus away from selling its largest assets.
“They should begin with the 1,500 smaller companies they still own,” he told WBJ, adding that privatizing those companies would bring in higher revenues than selling the big firms. He also pointed out that the government owns around 2.5 million hectares of land, the sale of which could also bring in considerable amounts of money.
No will to reform
In an ideal world, reform of public spending would be the best and easiest solution to the state’s financial straits. A few years ago PO promised large-scale changes, but the results so far have been meager. Only a few of the extensive pension privileges for various professional groups have been curbed, for example.
The government has put some of the blame for this on the president, who has vetoed many of its legislative efforts. In addition, ruling coalition partner the Polish People’s Party (PSL) is firmly against changes to the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund, which has long been a burden for the state budget.
Although nearly all post-communist Polish governments have put off public finance reform, Poland has never been so close to exceeding its debt thresholds. According to BCC expert Janusz Zieliński, the government needs to get to work immediately on the reform of public finances if it wants to keep the deficit under the 55 percent threshold.
But there is little hope for true reform a year before the presidential elections and two years before a new Parliament is chosen.
“Everybody knows what needs to be done, but there is no will to do it,” said Maja Goettig. “We are a country with never-ending elections. Can you imagine the prime minister – who, as we all know, wants to be president – presenting [financial reform] ideas a year ahead of an election campaign?” Paweł Wypych, a minister in the President’s Chancellery, asked Polska the Times.
According to Piotr Rogowiecki from the Confederation of Polish Employers, mandatory expenditures require the most urgent reform. Around 70 percent of total public spending is devoted to compulsory expenditures.
Pension ‘adjustments’
One recent government proposal for keeping public debt in check included redirecting two-thirds of the money that is currently taken from employees’ salaries and invested in Open Pension Funds (OFEs) into the debt-ridden Social Insurance Institution (ZUS).
The proposal, made by the finance and labor ministers, would lower OFE contributions from 7.3 percent at present to three percent. The remaining 4.3 percent would be paid into special individual accounts at ZUS. By shifting the funds, the government could lower the state budget’s payment to ZUS by some zl.13 billion.
Although Michał Boni, Prime Minister Tusk’s head advisor, described this as just a “working proposal,” the idea has elicited almost universal protest from entrepreneurs and financial experts.
Maja Goettig called the plan “a dismantling of the pension reform” of 1999, when the OFEs were introduced. Dr Grzegorz Szczodrowski from the Sobieski Institute branded it “a scandal.”
“This is a retreat from the idea of a capital pension system! I really expected the government to increase the role of the OFEs,” Dr Szczodrowski told WBJ.
“There are no simple solutions to a situation of financial crisis and its aftereffects. Either way, the government should try to reduce its ZUS [payments] by eliminating the many defects in the Polish pension system,” he added.
A group of 34 economists recently sent an open letter to the PM expressing their opposition to the idea. “The present proposals considered publicly by the representatives of your government undermine the guidelines of the pensions reform. In place of a stable, two-pillar system, they are again creating a state monopoly,” read the letter. The economists accused the government of trying to perform “creative budgeting” on a scale unseen since the fall of communism in 1989.
However, according to Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski, the transfer would be to taxpayers’ benefit, as they would avoid paying part of the fee charged by the OFE. Ireneusz Jabłoński also suggested that the solution would not be as bad as it is portrayed in the media. In his opinion, the OFEs are just another intermediary, collecting unnecessary charges.
Ignoring the law
Poland is one of the few countries that has willingly imposed budgetary thresholds on itself. According to Rzeczpospolita, the government is weighing the possibility of suspending the middle, 55 percent threshold for two years, although the finance minister denied this.
Most experts that WBJ consulted were against this idea, branding it as just another way of delaying the inevitable.
“It’s a bad idea. We would lose credibility in the eyes of investors. Since we do have some barriers which aim to protect us against irresponsibility, we should stick to them,” said Maja Goettig.
However, Mr Zieliński went so far as to suggest that exceeding the thresholds could be beneficial in the long run, as it would force the government to curb public spending.
On a wing and a prayer?
It is cold comfort for rational-minded investors, but luck may be the government’s best hope. For one thing, economic growth could end up being higher than the government predicts, helping to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio.
Currency fluctuations also play a big role – a large portion of Poland’s debt is denominated in foreign currency and the exchange rate on December 31 will be the final measure of the public debt in 2009.
Should the next month and a half bring favorable economic growth and further appreciation of the zloty, the state would have a bit more room to maneuver. The real question is, which is better for the long-term health of the economy – a lucky break or draconian reforms mandated by law?
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Post by pieter on Nov 29, 2009 17:20:50 GMT -7
From The Warsaw Voice
Poland Catching Up With Rich Nations
November 18, 2009
Poland is beginning to catch up with the most affluent countries in Europe and worldwide, according to data by Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office.
The data show that Poland's 2008 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was 57 percent of the EU average, ranking the country fourth from the bottom in a league table of all EU nations.
Latvia, which has been hit hard by the crisis, is just behind Poland with per-capita GDP at 56 percent of the EU average. Bulgaria and Romania, with 40 percent and 46 percent of the EU average respectively, are in last and next-to-the-last place respectively.
Luxembourg, whose per-capita GDP is more than 2.5 times higher than the EU average, tops the league table and is followed by Ireland with 140 percent, the Netherlands with 135 percent, and Austria with 123 percent.
Of the new member states which joined the EU together with Poland in 2004, the most affluent ones are Slovenia and the Czech Republic, with per-capita GDPs accounting for 90 percent and 80 percent of the EU average respectively.
Although Poland's position in the league table is not very strong, economists say, back in 2004 when the country was entering the European Union, its per-capita GDP accounted for only 50.6 percent of the EU average. This shows that people in Poland are becoming more affluent, according to experts.
The European Commission predicts that the gap between Poland and the most affluent countries will narrow further in the near future.
There is every indication that Poland will catch up with Hungary and Estonia in terms of affluence this year, according to a projection released by the European Commission in October. Poland's GDP per capita at purchasing power parity is expected to reach 14,100 euros. This will mark major progress compared with Estonia, whose economy grew rapidly until recently-by 7-10 percent annually.
In 2000, Poland was more affluent than Estonia, but in 2007 its per-capita GDP accounted for only 77.5 percent of Estonia's. It seemed then Poland would not be able to catch up with this "European tiger" for a long time. But the crisis has changed everything, economists say.
The European Commission predicts that Estonia's GDP will shrink by 13.7 percent this year; Hungary's GDP is expected to contract by 6.5 percent, while the Polish economy is projected to grow by 1.2 percent.
The gap between Poland and the most affluent nations in Europe is also narrowing. This year, Poland's per-capita GDP is expected to reach 52 percent of Germany's and 44 percent of Ireland's per-capita GDP. This will represent a major increase from 47 percent and 36 percent in 2007 respectively. If Poland managed to keep this pace in the long run it would take around 20 years to catch up with Germany and 14 years to catch up with Ireland, according to the European Commission.
Poland is only one step from joining the group of the world's most developed countries, according to the latest Human Development Report published by the United Nations in October. The UN list of countries ranked by level of human development is topped by a group of 38 developed nations with the highest human development indices (HDI)-exceeding 0.9. The highest score a country may achieve is 1 point. In the 2009 human development league table, compiled on the basis of data from 2007, Poland scored 0.88 points and was ranked 41st, ahead of 140 other countries.
Three factors are taken into account when compiling the league table: life expectancy at birth as a measure of the population's health and longevity, the level of education and literacy, and the standard of living measured by per-capita GDP at purchasing power parity.
Poland does well in the first two categories, economists say. Life expectancy for Polish women, at 79.7 years, is only three years shorter than that for Norwegian women, who top the UN league table in this respect. The difference in male life expectancy between the two countries is larger, at seven years. In terms of the level of education, Poland is close to Western European nations, which score the best in the world.
Meanwhile, Poland still lags behind the best performing countries in terms of household incomes. In 2007, the average Pole earned $15,000, over three times less than the average Norwegian and two times less than the average German. At the same time, Polish men earn one-third more than Polish women.
Western European countries, the United States, Japan, South Korea and the wealthiest Gulf states are still ahead of Poland in terms of household incomes. But according to UN experts, Poland is already more developed than Hungary and Slovakia. It has also moved ahead of all Latin American countries and Saudi Arabia, which has slightly higher household incomes thanks to oil, but falls behind Poland in terms of education and healthcare. Also, the gap between Poland and its eastern neighbors has widened since the fall of communism two decades ago. Poland is 41st on the UN list while Belarus is 68th, Russia 71st and Ukraine 85th.
Despite the overall increase in the country's affluence, disparities among individual regions have not diminished. In 2007, Poland's richest region was Mazovia, while Podkarpacie was the poorest, according to the Central Statistical Office (GUS). In Podkarpacie, per-capita GDP was only zl.20,800 a year, accounting for 42.2 percent of the level reported in Mazovia. The disparity has increased in recent years. In 2000, the per-capita GDP of Poland's poorest region accounted for 46.2 percent of the level reported in the richest region.
Disparities within individual provinces are even larger, with the most striking differences recorded in Mazovia province, where the city of Warsaw continues to develop rapidly. In 2007, Warsaw's per-capita GDP reached zl.94,200 a year, accounting for around 160 percent of the EU average. On the other hand, Mazovia province's Radom area reported a per-capita GDP of only zl.22,300, over four times less than Warsaw's.
The European Commission predicts that the gap between Poland and the most affluent countries will narrow further in the near future.
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Post by Jaga on Nov 30, 2009 5:53:48 GMT -7
Pieter,
thanks for good news about Poland! I hope that in 20 years there would be no difference between Eastern and Western Europe.
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Pawian
European
Have you seen my frog?
Posts: 3,266
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Post by Pawian on Nov 30, 2009 14:11:40 GMT -7
Pieter, thanks for good news about Poland! I hope that in 20 years there would be no difference between Eastern and Western Europe. Experts, not jounalists, say it will take from 30 to 50 years. Germany`s or Ireland`s economies won`t remain at standstill forever. |
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Post by pieter on Nov 30, 2009 17:52:59 GMT -7
Pieter, thanks for good news about Poland! I hope that in 20 years there would be no difference between Eastern and Western Europe. Jaga, We have a mutual hope or desire for Poland. But I am not an economist, nor a financial expert. I don't speak Polish and I have no acces to Polish language reports, documents, economist views and important political and structural knowledge about the Polish society, educational and scientific progress, the differant economical branches or sectors. I am dependant on the English, German and Dutch sources, which are often translated, and therefor not a direct source. I am confident and hopeful though that Poles want to improve their situation with all the means and resources they have. Poland has had an arrears of 45 years of Communism plus 5 years of Nazi occupation, so 50 years! The forced Marxist-leninist plan economy, Commecon exchange trade (which was primitive and not beneficial for Poland), and lack of freedom to develop themselves put the Poles backward. Ofcourse you can't say Poles were nothing or primitive during communism and the Nazi occupation, but most of them were only occupied with their survival and not with developping their country, own skills and the progress ofg their society. I have a strong believe that a minority got politically, organisation technic and even to some extend economically trained in their Underground activities and movement (The KOR and Solidarnosc people). Others tried to do the upmost best to make something of their lives and the lives of their families, by educating themselves on the " Communist Universities and schools" they had. You had the official mixed economy of plan economy with private agricultural farms and enterprises. The Black market was huge and a real competitor to the official legal market. Many Poles built a life abroad! Some assimilated into the other nations they moved to. Some of them kept their Polish identity and went back to Poland after 1989. In this new Democratic and Free Poland of the last 20 years there was a reform of the economy with the " Shocktherapy", privatisations of state firms, foreign investments, New Polish firms and companies, Joint ventures of Polish and Foreign companies or businesses and the European structural funds that improved Polish regions and the Polish infrastructure. But in the same time there was unemployment, poverty, growing crime rates, pensions of old people that became worthless (in such way that many old people had to work while they were seventy or eighty years old), and regions that were bankrupt, because former state farms and industrial firms were put out of business. Slowly Poland became a Western country in Central-Europe with an old fashionate culture, mentality and the heritage of Communism, a past of a devastating war they could not deal with, because the totalitarian regime that imposed the terror and losses to them was replaced by another totalitarian regime which stood in the way of dealing with the past. In the West people could start with rebuilding their societies and economies in the fiftees and sixtees, after the harsh rebuilding years of the late fourtees (1944-1950). The Parlaimentarian democracies with their free market economies, with it's democratic checks and ballances, and ballance between Laissez faire and etatism, could create prosporous productive consumer societies, Industrial progress, innovative economies and free choice of education and personal initiatives and movement. This was stolen of the Poles by history and the betraylal of their Western allies, who delivered the Poles to the Stalinist Sovjet system, which suffocated the Polish freedom and right to progress, freedom and (economical) development. Today maybe Poles are more motivated to make something of their country, their economy and their education system than Western- European countries, which take their Freedom and Democracy for granted. The Poles are determined to work hard for their own personal capital, owner's capital or equity capital. They want to own a house they could'nt afford during Communism, when many families only had one or two rooms. They want to have their own private enterprices, they want to elect good governments which impliment good measures who create economical growth, improve their life quality and establish good schools and universities for their childrens future, so that they have a good future. They tried Solidarnosc, UW, SLD/PSL, AWS, SLD again, a National-conservative PiS/LPR(Liga Polskich Rodzin) and Samoobrona coalition and finally a PO-PSL moderate centrist coalition took the power. The Reform policies were continued. The Modern free-market economy is in good hands with the PO dominated government, because form one side they have a structural and pragmatic internal affairs and on the foreign field the Polish government is diplomatic, open minded and cooperative, which is good for tade, the import and export business, economical growth and foreign investments in Poland, because foreign companies, financial firms and banks trust the Polish government, society and economy (the Polish market which is attractive and stabile for the Dutch, German, American and French partners). Pieter |
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Post by pieter on Nov 30, 2009 18:52:29 GMT -7
Pieter, thanks for good news about Poland! I hope that in 20 years there would be no difference between Eastern and Western Europe. Experts, not jounalists, say it will take from 30 to 50 years. Germany`s or Ireland`s economies won`t remain at standstill forever. Pawain, You are a Polish teacher, living in one of the most developped Polish cities, with a modern infrastructure, research centres, companies, higher education and progress. You have the Polish economical resources, documents, reports and experts in your environment. I don't! This experts you mentione may speak the truth or predict the future rightly. But they also might be wrong. The future will prove who will be right, the experts or the journalists! I agree with you that experts are better sources than journalists, but some (reasearch) journalists are experts too. And maybe the Polish British Chamber of Commerce has some Polish businesspeople of economical scientists who have the statistic information, the connection to Polish economists and Polish civil servants and politicians who are involved in implementing the policies and measures of the Polish national and regional governments. I have a new vision of a Polish Common Wealth, which differs from the Pilsudski one. The New Polish Common Wealth is the "federation" or "Union" of the Polish republic with future enclaves or communities of Poles fo the Polish diaspora in Europe. Polish communities with Polish social-economical (sociological) ethno-cultural materialistic enclaves in other nations. The Polish communities and area's of London, Dublin, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lviv (Lwów), Vilnius (Wilno) and other places. It's like the Dutch who are spread over Europe with their banks, financial firms, Unilever, Philips, Shell, Heineken and Akzo-Nobel. Polish firms,enterpices, products, machines, cars and busses will spread over Europe too like the exellent Polish bus Solaris. Poland will be integrated into Europe as one of the most important European countries, and Western-Europe will be integrated into Central-Europe, because the Western-Europeans will need their Eastern neighbours for their (consumer/products) markets, labour (market), space (tourism, investments, property). Poles will invest in Western-Europe, buy European property (houses, buildings, churches and schools), because Polish culture, economy and financial interests will spread over Europe. Where there is for instance secularisation in Western-Europe, empty Dutch, Belgian, French, Irish and German churches will become partly Polish or 100% Polish. In some regions of Western-Europe the Polish influx or natural growth will increase the Catholic faith there and a mixed culture of local Catholics and Polish catholics. In the same time Polish communities will need Polish shops, supermarkets, bars, restaurants, travel agencies, LOT branches, Polish construction firms (foreign Poles will rent or pay Polish workers, companies and equipment, because Polish Poles are often better skilled and disciplined workers than native people of the region or the other migrant populations, which are often demoralised or indifferant due to the social wellfare systems of the societies they live in or the discrimination which is the cause of the lack of progress, education and skills of these people). Poles are white, European people, who learn European languages quickly and therefor are less discriminated against than black, colored or visible Muslim migrants (who are recognisable due to their Turkish, Kurd, Arab, Berber or Persian looks). In the Islamophobic Europe Poles have the benefit that they are christians with a simular culture. Poles stil face discrimination and xenophobia due to their slavic language and culture, but in the near future European mix of open borders, markets and labour traffic that will decrease in the near future. The only threat on the long term is a continuation of the financial-economical crisis in Europe, which will harm Polish export and foreign investments in Poland. Or bad Polish governments, the stop of Polish reforms and innovative measures. Poland in times of crisis has the benefit of a huge land mass with a lot of agricultural land, for the Polish people to feed themselves and the Polish food industry to grown. Poland has a well developped heavy industry of machinery, chemistry, the automotive sector and coals. Pieter |
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 1, 2009 5:36:13 GMT -7
Or bad Polish governments, the stop of Polish reforms and innovative measures. You are absolutely right. Good text from Poland about the prospects concerning the cited sentence, Pieter  www.economist.com/theworldin/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14742370The last sentence reads 'there will be no more excuses'. Jan Piotrowski is perfectly right. We are all looking forward to the promised financial and tax reforms by Donald Tusk... |
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Post by pieter on Dec 1, 2009 17:35:01 GMT -7
Tufta,
Thanks for posting this article from the Economist.
Yes, ofcourse Jan Piotrowski is right, a prime minister
and government has to fullfill his promises.
We have tough times today which changes the political,
financial and economical positions of countries and the
strategies, tactics and measures and implementation
of government policies which were put in party programs
and promises in earlier years which had more bright
future expectations.
Today we live in times of cut backs, sober governments,
governments that want to raise taxes, because they
nationalised banks or have to stop reforms and
privatizations.
Reading the Piotrowski article makes me less optimistic
about the Polish economical near future, with it's
rising unemployment (12%), Mr Tusk wish to become
the president, which will harm his focus on being the
prime-minister probably.
That the Civic Platform government puts off reforms is
not a good sign. Is the ppredicted economal expansion by as much as 2%
in 2010 good for ordinairy Poles or just for investers, bankers and
the happy few? Ecomical growth with cut backs on employment,
restructuring and growing automatic, technological, computerised
firms which do not need much human labour is not good for the
Polish labour market, and a good start for new generations of working
people. Students, schoolkids and people who search for jobs in general.
I hope that Poland will find a ballance between Laissez faire and
Etatism.
Pieter
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 2, 2009 6:48:37 GMT -7
Is the ppredicted economal expansion by as much as 2% in 2010 good for ordinairy Poles or just for investers, bankers and the happy few? It goes from the top to bottom in Poland. Before the wealth reaches the bottom the top must be quite saturated. We have trained the other - soviet - way round for some 40 years. It didn't work ;D However in-between the top and bottom there's a thick layer of clerks, beaurocrats, complicated tax system, incompetency etc etc stopping the flow. I voted for Donald Tusk because he promised to fix it. He didn't till now. And most of all he promised to largly increase investment into Poland's future - through increasing science and research funding. He didn't do that either. So, if you want to know my opinion Pieter, the short-term prospects are very good, even extremely good. But if the economic system is not cleared and the science and research funding is not LARGLY increased, the prospects in the long term are grey if not black. |
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Post by pieter on Dec 2, 2009 15:07:48 GMT -7
It goes from the top to bottom in Poland. Before the wealth reaches the bottom the top must be quite saturated. We have trained the other - soviet - way round for some 40 years. It didn't work ;D However in-between the top and bottom there's a thick layer of clerks, beaurocrats, complicated tax system, incompetency etc etc stopping the flow. I voted for Donald Tusk because he promised to fix it. He didn't till now. And most of all he promised to largly increase investment into Poland's future - through increasing science and research funding. He didn't do that either. So, if you want to know my opinion Pieter, the short-term prospects are very good, even extremely good. But if the economic system is not cleared and the science and research funding is not LARGLY increased, the prospects in the long term are grey if not black. Tufta, I don't believe in total equality or boning like many Social-democrats, socialists, Communists, and some liberals do! This did not work in the state socialist Peoples republics in Central-Europe, Eastern-Europe, Africa, the Middle east, Asia or the Social-democratic dominated North-West-European countries like Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands which equality wellfaire (social security) states went to far in the seventees and eightees. They are getting the price of the social benefit generations, to tolerant immigration legislation, affirmative action and cultural subsidy which oversupported migrant communities and organisations and the acceptance or promotion of multiple ethnic cultures, for practical reasons and/or for the sake of diversity and applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. This blocked economical independance and self supportive attitudes and created a lack of initiative of individuals and groups in larger parts of the German, Scandinavian, Dutch and British societies (only Iron lady Thatcher broke the disastrous power of the Socialist Unions who damaged the British economy with their dogmatic power). It created the segregation which is the case in many Western-European societies and therefor seperate Native and migrant communities and the gap between working people with salaries and unemployed with social benefits. It goes from the top to bottom not only in Poland but in most parts of the world, because most societies are based on a natural functioning hierarchy of working class, Middle class and highclass (Upperclass; an aristocratic top level of politicians, business people, bankers, diplomats, professors and economists), with seperate classes of technocratic or pragmatic state bureaucrats (civil servants) and farmers (who are an independant class, based on their property, food production for business -selling- and own use). Unfortunately there are not many countries which have a well functionating, pragmatic (practical ideas and values which are the base of a society in staid of ideology) Meritocracy as a system of a government. The saturated top in Poland is also an old Communist bureaucratic class which was high educated during communism due to affirmative action for this new elite of the Proletarian Communist working class. This Communist academic class had power during the Communist rule and during the post communist 20 years of Freedom and democracy that came after that (1989-2009). These former opportunist rulers changed from Marxist-leninist hardliners from one day to an other new "Western class". A Third way " New democrats", the " so called" moderate social-democrats, who embraced the Capitalist free market economy and became business people, reformers who were and are linked to Europe (EU, NATO, diplomatic positions, and trade) and Western European Social-democratic networks and funds for Central- and Eastern-Europe. They just had to reform their old system and were forced to share power or abandon power for a short moment to their dissident oponents. But they had the power of the economy, because privatised state firms became their private property and tools, and with the support of Western borthers and sisters they reformed and rebuilt their party, the PZPR became the SLD. Next to that you have the clergy who have their influence on the businessworld, Polish politics (most parties) and people. Third you have the class of the former Underground (dissidents of KOR and Solidarnosc) who have their own political parties ( PO and PIS), media ( Gazeta Wyborcza) and competitive businesses towards the reformed and privatized state firms of the former communists and their political henchmen of the SLD or PSL. I know that the soviet/Polish People Republic - PZPR-state- didn't work! I watched it in the seventees and eightees when I was in Poland as a child and teenager and it had a big (negative) contrast with my own prosperous, Free and Democratic Netherlands. In Western-Europe with it's social-democratic inherited system we have the thick layer of clerks, beaurocrats, complicated tax system, caused by the incompetency between the top and bottom, stopping the flow too. Partly that is caused by a complicated corporatist system of negociations between government, Unions and employers organisations (called " the gathering of the social partners"). In the overorganised (high level of organisation) Netherlands there is to much legislation, to many rules and laws, to many rights and to less duties or tasks. To much etatism (which is an heritage of Social-democratic, Christian-democratic communitarism, a sort of reformed pillarisation or autonomy of the differant groups of society) and to less Laissez faire. You voted for Donald Tusk because he promised to fix it. That fix, I presume, was less state influence, more individual autonomy and responsability, a smaller state, less taxes, more free enterprice, a liberal democratic business orientation and more Freedom instaid of Equality (boning). You are part of the majority of centre-right Europeans, who follow a liberal-conservative-democratic course, which is a mix of Patriotism, Middle class values, a (European) liberal free market orientation, distrust of the state burocracy, the traditional politics (the political class of the old and new parties that keeps the state burocracy in place). Tusk didn't fix the complicated tax system, incompetency and the existing corruption till now. And unfortunately he didn't increase investment into Poland's future through increasing science and research funding either. Is there no Polish political party that can joyn the sensable, realistic mainstream of European politics which believe in decentralisation, the economical power and progress of the healthy national and Euregional regions (like the Krakow and Poznan regions, like the Dutch-German Nord-Rhein-Westfalen-Gelderland/Düsseldorf-Arnhem region), the power of one's own initiative (The power or ability to begin or to follow through energetically with a plan or task; enterprise and determination). People starting and owning their own business, firm, company, shop, commercial network or project, job or asignment. Is in Poland the power of the former Communist structures, or new party bound "Nationalist" state structures and fear of losing ones national identity by foreign (influence through investments, buying property, joint ventures) or new state socialist (Polish socialist -in both the leftwing, centrist and rightwing forms) standing in the way of tax reductions, tax reforms, and reducing the seize of the bureaucratc state structures? What stands in the way of the demolition of the left over structures of the Peoples republic and the post-communist follow ups of that? I hoped that the " New EU" would remove the old structures of Communism in central- and Eastern-Europe, the corporatist fascist elements in Southern-Europe (Italy, Spain and Portugal) and the Social-democratic heritage in North-Western Europe, and that new politics, the New economy, a larger inner European market would blow away the old goasts of the past! Keeping the good old things of the past of the various regions of Europe, the Business and technical power of North-West Europe, the traditional quality products of the South, and the skills, intellect, food industry, machinery (cars, busses, trains, trucks and trams), labourmarkets and Modernisation of Central- and Eastern Europe! Tufta, I don't believe in short-term (materialistic and quantity) thinking, I believe in long-term (quality, development and investment in the future) thinking. That long term thinking requires a cleared economic system (tough brave measures) and the largly increased science and research funding. So your realistic vision of Poland as a Pole with the right information and knowledge has made me a pessimist in the Polish perspective! The Netherlands have a centuries long development of independance, freedom, selfrule, trade, a business oriented society (supported by both the Calvinists and Catholics who managed to live together and cooperate in relative peace). The confessional cooperation of Protestants, Catholics and humanists (secular liberals and moderate democratic socialists) has proven to be succesful on the long term in the Netherlands in the 20th century. It stil works in the 21th century, although you have polarisation, tensions and people who fear the present or the future. Europe is positive, the new memberstates (of which Poland is the most important) are a positive force, and the integration of North-Western Europe, Southern-Europe, and Central- and Eastern-Europe is stil taking place. Portugal, Spain and Ireland developped themselves from very poor, backward states to Modern, technological and economical wealthy states, equal to Northern-Europe and Great-Britian. Even if it will take a long road, Poland will also reach the European standard and in the same time will stay authentic, independant and autonomous. That is the uniqueness of Europe which non Europeans do not understand. We have an European Union of independant Patriotic states. Pieter Links: Social partners: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_partnersSocial-Economic Council: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social-Economic_CouncilEmployers organization: en.wikipedia.or /wiki/Employers%27_organization Polder Model: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder_ModelCollective bargaining: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_bargaining( pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uk%C5%82ad_zbiorowy_pracy ) pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodeks_pracy ? Consensus decision-making: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-makingGroup decision making: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_decision_making |
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 3, 2009 11:10:25 GMT -7
Pieter, I would say I agree very much with all you have written! There's only one striking exception - knowing and naming the obstacles I remain an optimist, not a pessimist, concerning Polish perspectives. Comparing to what was already done, the remaining work in economical and tax system are easily accessible with political will to do so. The elimination of this thick beaurocratic-clerk layer is more difficult, but also possible. The most difficult part is getting rid of church influence into state, but this influence is not always seen as detrimental by a vast majority of Poles.
To answer your question if there's a party in Poland capable and willing to do the remaining repair work in the realistic European mainstream style - my answer is: yes, there's is one! What is more - this party is currently the strongest in Poland ;D ;D
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Post by pieter on Dec 3, 2009 12:23:48 GMT -7
Tufta, It's good that you remain an optimist, stay that way please. Sensable, smart voters like yourself have a democratic power to correct the course governments go! If the Civic Platform (PO) does not show the political will or have the guts to do the remaining work in the economical and tax system they will lose votes. Protest votes will go to PiS, PSL (unlikely) or even SLD? PSL is already in the government but that party can as easily govern with the SLD. And that would be sad for present day Poland and Poland in the near future, but that is the free choice of the voter in a free Democracy. PO should show the guts to take unpopular but necassery measures to rescue the economy and make the financial situation for the country better in the near future. Decrease the state debt like Clinton did in the ninetees in the USA. The elimination of that thick beaurcocratic-clerk layer is an important and difficult task, many centre-right and even centre-left governments in Europe managed to do. Even Labour in Great-Britain. Yes, getting rid of the the influence of the Roman-Catholic church into the Polish state, politics and education system is difficult when the vast majority of Poles are (Catholics) and loyal to their church. People should realise that the influence of religion on the state or the political system has always social-economical consequences. Because the church influence won't lower the taxes, en beaurocracy, corruption or continue or start economical reforms which are needed. The church always want to keep things like they are, the church doesn't like changes. And inside the church you have beaurocracy, corruption, and political games too. Because the church is always a representation of the society it is rooted in. The church should stay out of the state affairs and politics and concentrate on it's own important task. Maintaining churches, cathedrals, monastries, Catholic community centres, the care for the poor, elderly, orphans, refugees, addicted and the spiritual work. The church has to go and work where the state and politics don't go, in the spiritual and faith part of the lives of the Polish citizens. The Church may have it's own scouting movement, youth groups, women organisations, Catholic men clubs, social work organisations, but a political party that represents the church, or a party controled by the church should not be allowed, or criticized, confronted and pointed at the law which states; " seperation between state and church". Church stay out of Politics!That most Polish politicians are Catholics who go to church (or not), have Catholic families, and practice the catholic faith at home and in church is good for them. That catholic and Polish patriotic ethics (also influenced by Catholicism) guide them or influence their political standpoints and decisions is ok too. Because they are Lay persons not belonging to the clergy, and therefor supposed to be independant politicians (not controled by the church). In the Netherlands we have seen in history the negative and confessional dogmatic and sometimes dictatorial suffocating influence of the Catholic and protestant churches or dominations on politics and the state, due to the effect of pillarisation. The Dutch Roman-Catholic church directed in the fourtees and fiftees how Roman-Catholics should vote for instance. Only one positive example of that was that in the war cardinal De Jong, the head of the Dutch Roman-Catholic church made a degree and statement that Dutch catholics were prohibited to join or be a member of the Dutch National Socialist Movement, the NSB Nazi party on the punishment of excommunication. pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_de_Jong / en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_de_JongAfter the war the same cardinal prohibited Dutch catholics to become a member of the Social-democratic labour party, PvdA, and advised the Dutch Catholics not to listen to the socialist broadcast corporation, VARA, and not to read the socialist newspaper "Het Vrije Volk" (The Free People). The Dutch church was very powerful, dominant then and had it's own representative in parlaiment the large Catholic Peoples Party, de KVP. It was the time that priest came to the houses of the Catholic families to urge the catholic women to have many children (there should be more catholics then Protestants in this Calvinist country, was the underlying message). In that time Catholic families in the South had huge families of 10 to 12 kids per family. Pieter |
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