A-Z of EU membership harmonization: Land purchases

Initially, the government applied for an 18-year moratorium on the purchase of land in Poland by EU citizens. Eventually, EU citizens wishing to buy land will have to apply for permission from the Interior Ministry, and twelve years after joining the EU - or in 2016 - they will be able to purchase land and forests freely. However, this regulation will contain two exceptions: EU farmers who moved to Poland before the end of the land-ownership negotiations and leased it for cultivation, will be allowed to purchase it after 7 or 3 years of the land's lease. Those farmers who moved to Poland after the end of negotiations will be able to purchase land 7 or 3 years from the date of EU entry. The government has negotiated a five-year transition period for the purchase of so-called "second houses" (houses for recreational purposes). However, those EU citizens who will have been resident in Poland for at least four years following entry will be allowed to purchase their recreational estates freely. With the first day of membership, EU companies will be free to purchase land for investments. (Rzeczpospolita, Dec. 14-15, p. A4) A.Z.