European Commission anxious about reversing trend of privatization

The European Commission has expressed anxiety at the trend of reversing the course of privatization in Poland since Leszek Miller became Prime Minister. On Friday, an EU Commission report on the treatment of foreign investors in Poland was delivered to representatives of the EU states. Following controversy between the government and international insurance concern Eureko over the PZU privatization, the document had been prepared at the request of the Netherlands, which lobbied hard for Eureko and refused to consent to closing negotiations with Poland on the flow of capital unless such a report was submitted. According to Gazeta Wyborcza sources, Miller has discussed the Eureko issue with the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, and has sent a letter to the Commission explaining that the Eureko affair would not influence the privatization process. The EU commission has voiced concern over the tendency toward consolidation rather than privatization of state companies in important sectors and "has tried to encourage the Polish government to assure foreign investors that they will not be discriminated against in the privatization process," said Jean-Christophe Filori, spokesman for EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Günter Verheugen. (Gazeta Wyborcza, June 1-2, p. 24) K.S.