Employers find fault with bill to replace heavily criticized golden share

The Treasury Ministry, which is working on the amendments to the commercial companies code aimed at ensuring the protection of state interest in strategic companies, decided to abandon the heavily criticized golden share solution but plans to introduce the right to veto instead. The aim of the bill would be to give the Treasury Minister the right to veto companies' management decisions of strategic importance that may pose a threat to the state security or the public interest. The company would have the right to appeal against the veto but it would remain in force until the dispute is settled. Moreover, the State Treasury is to have the right to veto irrespective of the stake it owns in the company. Representatives from the Polish Confederation of Private Employers, who earlier declared that a golden share is an attempt to regain the political control in already privatized companies and a breach of the ownership rights, repeated that the replacement of a golden share with a veto right does not change their stance. (Puls Biznesu, p.5) E.B.