Poland uninsured

A Brussels court has dismissed Poland's petition to annul a decision handed down by an international arbitration court in favor of Dutch insurance company Eureko. The arbitration court had found that Poland owed damages to Eureko in relation to a 1999 agreement in which the Polish government had promised to sell a controlling stake in state-controlled insurer PZU to the Dutch firm.

"The court found that the partial award had already addressed all issues which were the basis of this annulment claim by the Republic of Poland," Eureko said in a statement. Poland's Treasury Ministry declined to comment on the matter.

According to Eureko, the partial award held that Poland had breached its bilateral-investment treaty with the Netherlands by violating Eureko's investment rights, and that PZU must be privatized in accordance with the agreement.

Law and Justice had appealed the ruling, and an investigative parliamentary commission examining the sale said that the deal was not valid and should be annulled.

Eureko has estimated its damages at zł.6 billion and has continually expressed its willingness to negotiate the settlement with the Polish government to resolve the issue. Last week, it emerged that the State Treasury would seek compensation from ABN AMRO, which was the advisor to the government on the privatization of PZU. The Treasury charges that the Dutch bank did not disclose its conflict of interest in the matter, since it had several business connections with parties interested in the privatization, including a main lender to Eureko's dominant shareholder. (Reuters)