Poland's time is running out

Poland will submit restructuring plans to Brussels on Friday that are meant to save its three Baltic shipyards, in compliance with an EU-imposed deadline.

The European Commission said that the state-owned Gdynia and Szczecin shipyards, as well as the privatized Gdańsk shipyard, would have to pay back more than €2.3 (zł.7.56) billion in state aid if the new restructuring plans do no comply with EU competition regulations, forcing the yards into bankruptcy.

"Today, this afternoon but definitely today, we will send [the plans to Brussels]," Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad told PIN radio.

When asked how long it will take Brussels to go over the plans, Grad said, "I think the analysis of these documents will take some time, but we need to get an answer by October because the uncertainty is killing the yards."

The opinion is also shared by a member of the European Parliament Janusz Lewandowski who feels Warsaw will not wait long for the final decision, he said in an interview with TVN CNBC. "The plans were submitted previously. The investors also talked privately [with Brussels]. We will not shock Brussels with anything new," he said.

Meanwhile, Grad did not reveal how many redundancies are envisaged in the restructuring plans.

The historic shipyards, where Poland's Solidarity movement was born in the 1980s, hold a special place in the hearts of Poles and previous governments have failed to settle their fate. Their collapse would leave 15,000 people unemployed, while some Polish officials say nearly 60,000 jobs could be lost if suppliers and related sectors are taken into account. (AO)