Treasury looking to compromise with Eureko over PZU dispute

The Treasury Ministry wants to reach an agreement with Eureko and, following a court ruling yesterday favoring the pan-European insurer in its dispute over control of PZU, will likely re-appoint Eureko-backed people as heads of Poland's largest insurer and its life insurance arm PZU Zycie. The Warsaw Commercial Court ruled yesterday to annul the resolutions taken at PZU's January general shareholders meeting after minority owners Eureko and BIG Bank Gdanski petitioned the court to throw out controversial measures the insurance giant's main shareholder, the Treasury Ministry, decided to take, including a shake up of PZU's supervisory board and top management. The court also found that the decision to appoint the company's chairman Robert Maruszko and Robert Bucholc was taken illegally. Though the court's ruling is not yet in force, observers speculate that next Friday's PZU supervisory board meeting will probably appoint two more executives to the three-member board of directors. At present, there are no members on the supervisory board representing Eureko's and BIG BG's interests. This situation is, however, likely to change, as the newly appointed treasury minister, Aldona Kamela Sowinska, has expressed her intention to reach a compromise with the minority shareholder. Minister Sowinska has also said she wants to get rid of current PZU Zycie chairman, Grzegorz Wieczerzak, a move Eureko says it favors. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p.9) M.T.