2005 The year in brief: DECEMBER

PGNiG shakeup

The supervisory board of Polish state-controlled gas group PGNiG suspends the firm's management board, appoints temporary replacements, and starts the process of selecting new members. PiS blames the management board for carrying out the privatization that it has long opposed.

Teta's time

Polish IT company Teta  debuts on the WSE. The price per share reaches zł.12.20 - about 20% higher than the issue price. Teta earns more than zł.5 million from the IPO. The funds are to be spent mostly on launching new products.

EU budget battle

The UK submits its proposal for the EU budget for 2007-2013 in which new member states will lose out the most, while the richest countries will be the ones to benefit. Poland will receive EUR 5 (zł.19) billion less. The EU budget is reduced from EUR 871 (zł.3,337) billion to EUR 847 (zł.3,254) billion and new member states will lose EUR 14 (zł.54) billion in total. The proposal is roundly criticized by all member states. (Poland A.M.)

Martial law

The National Remembrance Institute (IPN) announces that Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski might be brought to trial over introducing martial law in Poland in December, 1981. PO leader Jan Rokita claims that Jaruzelski's move 24 years ago belongs in the category of coup d'etat. Since November 2004, prosecutors from the Katowice branch of IPN have been investigating whether introducing martial law was a communist crime.  Martial law was imposed by the communist authorities beginning on the night of December 12. The country's borders were closed, a curfew was introduced, and a ban was imposed on any public gatherings or strikes. Martial law was officially lifted on July 22, 1983.(Poland A.M.)