Poland to cancel bilateral investment agreements

Poland announced that it will endeavor to cancel bilateral treaties (BITs) with other European Union countries, arguing that such agreements put “pressure” on the Warsaw government over economic issues. "Investment arbitration is one of the most important matters in terms of protecting the interest of the state treasury," deputy treasury minister Mikolaj Wild said on Thursday, as quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP). There are currently 11 such cases, worth PLN 4.1 billion "This is why the state treasury has decided to analyze the benefits and losses and to extinguish these agreements as quickly as possible," Wild said. According to PAP, Poland has 60 BIT agreements, dating mostly from the 1990s after the collapse of communism in Poland in 1989. The agreements regulate private investments between states.