Poland to liberalize capital flows by October, says chief EU negotiator

Poland plans to liberalize its capital flow fully in October to conform with European Union (EU) rules, Warsaw's chief EU membership negotiator Jan Truszczynski said on Thursday. Poland freed its foreign exchange policy for current account purposes in 1999 but kept restrictions on short-term capital flows to protect the zloty from speculative attacks. The curbs force non-residents to seek the Polish central bank's permission to trade in derivatives. Also, Poles currently need the bank's permission to open a bank account abroad. "Under our commitments, the liberalisation [of capital flows] will take place on October 1," Truszczynski told a news briefing in Brussels. Poland had originally planned to lift all restrictions on capital flows in 2000 but delayed the move, partly to keep its high current account deficit in check. (Reuters) D.T.