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(last updated: 2004-09-13 13:44:40)
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The Polish government’s economic policy – presented in the programme ‘Enterprise – Development – Work’ – covers the realisation of the following strategic goals:
- Return to a 5% annual GDP growth path over the next 2 years;
- Awakening the labour market and increasing employment;
- Efficient absorption of European funds and using them for
the development of the country.
The key to the country’s economic development in the plan is improving infrastructure. Investment in the communications
system and road, rail and air networks are designed to ensure an improvement in the conditions in which enterprises function and for the creation of new jobs. Investment in the house building sector will help not only trade and the service sector, but will also raise the quality of life for Polish society. The government anticipates that money for developing the Polish economy will come from sources ‘freed’ as a result of the significant savings made in the state’s fixed expenditures. This will be achieved via the liquidation of non-effective areas of the government administration, limits on various privileges in different branches of the economy and rethinking of the social security system. Privatisation and the sale of shares in State Treasury companies will continue. An indispensable source of funds earmarked for new investments (for example on infrastructure) is money from the EU, both from pre-accession sources (Phare, ISPA and SAPARD) and those that will be forthcoming after Poland’s accession.
Another important challenge is restructuring: of the brown coal mining sector, the power sector, oil sector, gas sector, steel sector, the large chemical processing sector, defence industry and the rail transport sector. The fundamental aim of restructuring is making these enterprises and sectors profitable, thus easing pressures on the national economy. The process of reshaping the ownership structure of the Polish economy will most likely be finished by 2005. By then Poland should have achieved an ownership structure close to that in the countries of the EU, where the share of public ownership in the economy ranges from 10-15%. In the government’s programme ‘Enterprise – Development – Work’ the future of rural areas and agriculture occupy an important place.
The strategy for agriculture and rural areas takes into consideration not only the current situation in the sector and tasks associated with upcoming integration with the EU, but equally the general state of the Polish economy and public finances. Agricultural policy is based on four pillars: improving profitability in the agricultural sector, strengthening competitiveness in the agriculture-food producing sector, supporting economic activity in rural areas and adapting law and institutions for EU accession. A widening of intervention purchasing and the introduction of subsidies for milk and dairy products will also be necessary. This will not be possible without increasing the role of agricultural producers, making sanitary standards universally applicable, changes in the agrarian structure and agricultural production methods.
In the area of regional policy the government is continuing with reform of the administration and moving towards a unitary and decentralised state by transferring tasks, responsibilities and funds to local government levels. This will mean, amongst other things, the end of the dominance of special (branch) administration over regional administration in the areas of managing public finances.
It will also mean limiting the role of targeting agencies and government agencies. The government anticipates that funds from the EU will represent a significant share of money earmarked for realising regional development policy. It is estimated that after EU accession the combined value of financial sources anticipated in the National Development Plan, together with national co-financing, may reach as high as 24-30 billion zlotys.
The aim of monetary policy conducted by the National Bank
of Poland is lowering inflation, and in the longer-term stabilisation of prices, essential to building lasting foundations for economic growth. The NBP has consistently held the level of interest rates high in line with realising its inflationary target. This has impacted on higher nominal short-term interest rates on the money markets, impacting in turn on borrowing rates for credit and deposits in commercial banks. In the opinion of the European Commission in its annual report on the situation in each candidate country, Poland’s central bank deserves special note for its significant contribution to lowering inflation in Poland and to more flexible monetary policy. |
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