Eureko cool about PZU's plans to enter into alliance with BPH

"We specialize in insurance and in fact this is the only thing we are good at. However, in Poland there is Rabobank [a Eureko shareholder] which is a shareholder in bank BGŻ. I believe that after 2007 it will be possible to acquire a majority stake in the Polish bank which would enable the expansion of its activities," declared Eureko's president Maarten Dijkshoorn. The Dutch company plans to use PZU in its expansion in Ukraine and Belarus. "However, we must first solve the dispute [over the ownership of PZU] with the Polish government," stated Dijkshoorn. The company declared that it does not intend to give up its stake in PZU. "Poland is our second most important market and PZU is an excellent company," declared Dijkshoorn. The Polish government has recently rejected Eureko's settlement terms involving a EUR 1.5 billion compensation and the sale of a 21% stake in PZU for the price from 2001. "We hope that the second stage of arbitration proceedings which will determine the amount of compensation will begin in August," said Dijkshoorn. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8; Parkiet, p. 6) E.B.