Is Poland giving in to EC over Special Economic Zones dispute?

The Finance Ministry has begun investigating into how removing privileges afforded investors in Special Economic Zones (SSE) would affect budget revenues after the European Commission (EC) expressed its disapproval of such privileges, citing their inconsistency with EU law. Insiders speculate that this may be the first sign of Poland's yielding to EC demands to abolish tax breaks for SSE-based companies, which are illegal from the point of view of EU competition regulations. Changes would apply only to those investors who started operating in SSEs before Jan 1, 2001, when new regulations uniform with the EU’s took effect. Experts also say Poland will have to tighten lax policies concerning car producers, who in the EU are subject to more stringent laws. Polish companies add that the fact they are not allowed to operate in SSEs is unfair and makes it more likely that such privileges will be done away with. Poland hopes to close the chapter on competition policy with the EU this fall. (Rzeczpospolita, p.1)J.K.