Poland’s gas contract with Russia ‘compliant with EU law’

A contract for Russian natural gas supplies to Poland will be in compliance with EU regulations, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski said in Brussels.

The European Commission, however, has doubts concerning the issue and is currently in talks with the Polish government. Sikorski told a press conference in Brussels that a modified Polish-Russian agreement is to be signed within the next few months.
A Polish Ministry of the Economy source told the Polish News Agency (PAP) that without signing the gas agreement with Russia, there might be a gas shortage in Poland after October 20. The EC reacted upon press information signalling that there are fears whether the agreement was in line with EU law and addressed two letters to the Polish Ministry of Economy last February and April. According to the Deputy Minister of the Economy Waldemar Pawlak, the deal with Russia had been sealed before Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004 and the annex to the contract, currently being drafted, is intended to modify it to onform with EU regulations.
The annex regulates the matter of the Yamal pipeline operator. Its Polish section is to be operated by Treasury-owned Gaz-System. EC demands that the operator be independent and guarantee market participants equal access to transport infrastructure. At present the function of the operator is carried out by EuRoPolGaz with its main shareholders being Poland’s wPGNiG and Gazprom, wnp.pl reports.

Polish Market

ECONOMIC MONITOR

download pdf

• ● In December 2009 and January 2010, as in previous months in the second half of 2009, the Polish economy stood out against other countries in terms of GDP growth. Poland’s economic growth was higher than projected and higher than in other European countries.
read more »

• In 2009 construction output increased by 3.7%.
read more »

• Retail sales increase in most product groups.
read more »

• On the Warsaw Stock Exchange, stock prices were very volatile in January 2010.
read more »

• At the end of December 2009 the registered unemployment rate (claimant count rate) amounted to 11.9% versus 11.4% in November.
read more »

• At the end of January the president signed the 2010 budget bill into law. The bill was adopted by the parliament on December 18.
read more »

• In the fourth quarter of 2009 the Polish economy turned out to be more resistant to the global crisis than had been projected and than the economies of Polish neighbours, something which boosts optimism in forecasts for 2010 and the next years.
read more »

PODCAST

• Why do Israeli property developers pick Poland?

• New Polish president’s economic priorities

• Storm over homoerotic art show at Warsaw’s National Museum

• Poland’s new president Bronislaw Komorowski: a pragmatic, pro-business, euroenthusiast

• Poland and OECD innovation strategy

• How to make the Polish economy more innovative?

COMING UP

18th International Defence Industry Exhibition >>

Biotechnological Cracow >>

WEEKLY MARKET ANALYSIS

Retail sales up again in June
Retail sales growth in nominal terms accelerated in June to 6.4% y-o-y from 4.3% y-o-y in May. The increase was higher than expected. In real terms, retail sales growth accelerated to 4.5% y-o-y from 2.0% y-o-y. June was a consecutive month with retail sales figures stronger than expected, which indicates that consumption is recovering after it slowed significantly at the beginning of the year. Private consumption is driven by an improvement on the labour market coupled with a rise in disposable incomes. In Q2 2010 retail sales grew by around 3% y-o-y in nominal terms and around 1% y-o-y in real terms. On the basis of retail sales and industrial production data, it can be estimated that the GDP growth rate was close to 3%.

MARKET INFO