Red Tape Hot Box on A new bag of bureaucracy
Crazy last-minute preparations in the first few months to ensure that everything would be in perfect order by May 1, then the first six months in the Union and the curiosity of what the new situation will bring.
An optimistic sign is that our administration managed to prepare everything on time. We touched on the problem of international VAT numbers and the farmer's application forms for funds from the EU. There was a danger that Polish companies wouldn't be able to generate business with their European partners, and it was also likely that Polish agriculture would miss out on the millions that Brussels gives to farmers. Some say that, as far as our character goes, Poles are closer to the Mediterranean nations than their neighbors.
Well, we certainly have a lot in common with the Greeks-just like they, against all odds, managed to get everything ready for the Olympic Games, our bureaucracy did the same with all the forms and applications required for the proper functioning of our corporate bodies and individuals in the EU. Perhaps a new era in the history of our red tape has begun; let's hope that offices, ministries and bureaus will always be as effective as in the last month before the accession.
Since we joined the European family our local red tape became part of the common EU bureaucracy. Surprisingly, not only does this bureaucracy not hamper the citizens' work, but it also creates various opportunities and even gives them a chance to earn some money. Cheaper services in Poland and EU laws enable many Germans to get refunds for medical care that are higher than the cost of the service in Poland. And if you are without a job in 'old Europe', come to Poland; you'll get your Danish or German unemployment benefit here where prices are lower. Paradise. I can't wait till they let Ukraine into the EU...
Unfortunately, domestic red tape will probably take years before it becomes more or less civilized. So I'm afraid that co-columnist Mateusz Dembinski and I probably will not run out of topics in the near future. Despite this, we hope that in the coming New Year every one of you and your businesses won't have any problems with red tape.
An optimistic sign is that our administration managed to prepare everything on time. We touched on the problem of international VAT numbers and the farmer's application forms for funds from the EU. There was a danger that Polish companies wouldn't be able to generate business with their European partners, and it was also likely that Polish agriculture would miss out on the millions that Brussels gives to farmers. Some say that, as far as our character goes, Poles are closer to the Mediterranean nations than their neighbors.
Well, we certainly have a lot in common with the Greeks-just like they, against all odds, managed to get everything ready for the Olympic Games, our bureaucracy did the same with all the forms and applications required for the proper functioning of our corporate bodies and individuals in the EU. Perhaps a new era in the history of our red tape has begun; let's hope that offices, ministries and bureaus will always be as effective as in the last month before the accession.
Since we joined the European family our local red tape became part of the common EU bureaucracy. Surprisingly, not only does this bureaucracy not hamper the citizens' work, but it also creates various opportunities and even gives them a chance to earn some money. Cheaper services in Poland and EU laws enable many Germans to get refunds for medical care that are higher than the cost of the service in Poland. And if you are without a job in 'old Europe', come to Poland; you'll get your Danish or German unemployment benefit here where prices are lower. Paradise. I can't wait till they let Ukraine into the EU...
Unfortunately, domestic red tape will probably take years before it becomes more or less civilized. So I'm afraid that co-columnist Mateusz Dembinski and I probably will not run out of topics in the near future. Despite this, we hope that in the coming New Year every one of you and your businesses won't have any problems with red tape.
