Settling the bill
The government announced last week that it has received the go-ahead from the Paris Club- to seek early repayment agreements from 16 individual creditor nations for its communist-era debt of EUR 12.3 (zł.48.7) billion.
"We received official confirmation from the secretariat of the Paris Club that the member nations agree to the early repayment of Polish debt," the Vice Minister of Finance, Wiesław Szczuka, told Rzeczpospolita.
The government has been maneuvering to pay back the debt as early as possible, as the current favorable economic conditions make now an ideal time to repay.
According to the Paris Club's rules, Poland must now negotiate and sign agreements with each creditor nation individually, since the original deals were bilateral and set out different terms of repayment.
While the government hopes to convince all of the 16 nations to accept the deal this year, there are no guarantees.
"It may take a while but we will try to convince all member states. The first payment would be possible by the end of March," said Szczuka.
Finance Minister Miroslaw Gronicki reportedly said that Poland would pay a large part of the debt on March 31 and hoped to pay the rest in September.
According to current agreements, Poland is obligated to pay off the majority of the debt by 2009, and a remaining EUR70 (zł.277) million by 2014.
In order to finance the repayment, the government is replacing its Paris Club debt with debt on the bond market. In two bond issuances on international markets this year, the government has already earned EUR 3.5 (zł.13.87) billion.
"We received official confirmation from the secretariat of the Paris Club that the member nations agree to the early repayment of Polish debt," the Vice Minister of Finance, Wiesław Szczuka, told Rzeczpospolita.
The government has been maneuvering to pay back the debt as early as possible, as the current favorable economic conditions make now an ideal time to repay.
According to the Paris Club's rules, Poland must now negotiate and sign agreements with each creditor nation individually, since the original deals were bilateral and set out different terms of repayment.
While the government hopes to convince all of the 16 nations to accept the deal this year, there are no guarantees.
"It may take a while but we will try to convince all member states. The first payment would be possible by the end of March," said Szczuka.
Finance Minister Miroslaw Gronicki reportedly said that Poland would pay a large part of the debt on March 31 and hoped to pay the rest in September.
According to current agreements, Poland is obligated to pay off the majority of the debt by 2009, and a remaining EUR70 (zł.277) million by 2014.
In order to finance the repayment, the government is replacing its Paris Club debt with debt on the bond market. In two bond issuances on international markets this year, the government has already earned EUR 3.5 (zł.13.87) billion.
