“Polish Deal is a bold development program for our country, our homeland. It shall become what brings us together, it shall be the basis for dialogue, not only with entrepreneurs but also with scientific community, self-governments and other interested parties. I invite everyone to join the dialogue. Let it become the foundation of our development, cooperation and reconciliation – Jarosław Gowin, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development, Labour and Technology Jarosław Gowin said.”

Industrial Policy of Poland

A part of Polish New Deal is the Industrial Policy of Poland – a programme which responds to the challenges of industry in the post-covid perspective. It is based on the real needs of industry defined in the White Paper on Industrial Development and focuses on building resilience and sovereignty of industry. The programme includes specific measures in support of that sector of the Polish economy. They pertain to:

• Digitalisation,
• Green Deal,
• Localisation,
• Safety,
• Modern society.

Industrial Policy of Poland also indicates key sectors of the industry which face challenges, industries with great development potential as well as industries with new development perspectives. They are going to receive an additional impulse for development.

The programme also includes an innovative manner for stimulating cooperation and intra-industry dialogue. Industry contract is an agreement between public authorities and representatives of the industry for the implementation of mutually agreed commitments in medium term. The contract offers support for the development of a specific industry through “tailor-made” national policy instruments – legislative, programme-based and institutional.

Export policy

The pandemic period proved the importance of international trade for the Polish economy. During that time, it has become one of the driving forces behind the increase of our GDP. 2020 saw a 10-fold increase in the positive balance of the exchange of goods in Poland’s international trade to the level of PLN 53.7 billion. During the past year, despite the pandemic, Poland’s export has increased by 2.8% year-to-year and amounted to PLN 1,051.9 billion.   This is also accompanied by exports of services. Despite the fact that its value is 4 times lower in comparison to the export of goods, in 2020 the surplus (positive balance in trade) in the case of services was almost 2 times larger than the positive balance in the trade in goods. However, the Polish exporters continue to face significant challenges. With them in mind, we are developing a Polish export policy which is going to contribute to:

• increase the degree of internationalisation of Polish companies, in particular SMEs,
• further strengthening of economic relations with EU countries,
• increasing the share of non-EU countries in Polish export,
• moving up towards higher levels in the global value-added chains, including in particularly innovative industries,
• increasing the share of high technology products in Polish exports.

Measures for the entire administration will be defined and addressed in that regard. They are intended to respond to key challenges in Poland's foreign expansion. All the measures will be correlated with the emerging Industrial Policy of Poland, an important component of which is going to include the concentration of support on key industries, constituting an important export position of the country as well as those which are going to significantly contribute to Poland’s international competitiveness in the future.

Legal Shield

The main principles of the Legal Shield include digitalisation, simplification of procedures and elimination of administrative and legal barriers. It is being developed by the Inter-Ministerial Team for the elimination of administrative and legal barriers headed by Minister Anna Kornecka.
The first version of the Legal Shield includes:

• extensive use of simplified procedures and implied handling of administrative cases,
• the cautious introduction of single-instance proceedings,
• digitalisation of procedures,
• other improvements to proceedings and procedures,
• extension in time of the deadline for the implementation of selected regulatory obligations on the part of citizens, businesses and authorities due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Family foundation

The Ministry has prepared a draft law on family foundation, which is supervised in the ministry by the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Labour and Technology Marek Niedużak. The purpose of the Act is to facilitate the succession of companies, in particular due to the occurring generational changes. These types of foundations have been operating for many years in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, among others.

The possibility of introducing the institution of family foundations into the Polish legal system is going to be facilitated through:

• effective, multi-generational succession in family businesses,
• establishing strong domestic brands,
• accumulation and protection of capital against fragmentation,
• new investments.

The aim of a family foundation is going to be to protect and multiply the received assets. It is also going to bring certain benefits for its beneficiaries, usually the immediate family members of the founder, such as providing funds for the maintenance, education or medical treatment as well as for charitable purposes.

The outline law is expected to be submitted to the parliament in the second half of 2021 and the law shall enter into force on 1 January 2022.

Certification of public procurement contractors

The Ministry is also carrying out works aiming to introduce regulations for limiting the formal obligations of contractors who submit documents placing offers under public procurement procedures, as well as simplifying and increasing the speed of the verification of their standing by orderers. This is going to allow to establish a system that primarily favours entrepreneurs with real potential based on local resources.

The draft amendments provide that a contractor who uses certification is only required to collect and submit a set of required documents only once for the purpose of certification, instead of repeatedly collecting and submitting numerous documents for the purposes of individual proceedings. It is later going to be able to use the certificate to win new public contracts throughout its validity period. In this way, the certificate will confirm the contractor's ability to carry out public contracts in terms of meeting certain requirements.
Benefits for contractors:

• no need to collect and submit documents each time,
• no need to pay multiple fees for different documents.

Benefits for orderers:

• increasing the speed of the process of verifying the situation of the contractor,
• limiting potential allegations of under- or overestimation of the conditions for participation by introducing the possibility to refer to the conditions required for obtaining the certificate in the tender documents.

Certification of public procurement is going be optional. Orderers will not be obliged to require the submission of the relevant certificate, and the use of the certificate will always be at the discretion of the contractor. Contractors who do not have a certificate will be able to prove that there are no grounds for exclusion from the procedure or that they fulfil the conditions for participating in the procedure in a “traditional” manner.

The certification is meant to be a continuation of the direction taken by the new Public Procurement Law, which came into force this year and strengthened the position of SMEs by, among others, introducing a catalogue of mandatory and prohibited clauses, limiting the amount and scope of contractual penalties, or introducing the obligation of partial payments and advance payments in longer contracts.

The planned effective date of the procurement certification is 1 January 2023.

Remote work in the Labour Code

The introduction of remote work in the Labour Code is the result of the increased popularity of this type of work during the COVID-19 epidemic. It is also the result of several months of ongoing dialogue between the Ministry headed by Minister Iwona Michałek, employees and employers, as well as of demands made concerning the possibility to continue this manner of work also after the state of the epidemic has been called off.

Due to the introduction of a regulation on remote work to the Labour Code, employers and employees will be able to apply this solution on a permanent basis. At the same time, adequate guarantees will be provided for the protection of the employees who work remotely.

The draft amendment to the Labour Code will soon be sent for inter-ministerial consultations, opinion of social partners and public consultations.

Planned major changes:

• the provisions on remote working will replace the current provisions on teleworking in the Labour Code,
• the principles of remote work will be determined in an agreement concluded between the employer and company trade unions, while in the event that such agreement is not concluded or in the event of the lack of trade unions – in regulations determined by the employer,
• regulations will also address the issue of costs related to the provision of remote work by an employee. The purpose of this solution is to take into account the interests of both parties to the employment relationship and to agree on the type and conditions of remote work.
• the law will also regulate occupational health and safety.

Reform of the labour market institutions and the Employment Support Act

The changes occurring on the labour market and the necessity to adjust the support provided by public employment services to the current expectations of the unemployed and jobseekers as well as employers are the reason why the current Polish employment support system which has been existing for over 20 years in Poland requires modernisation.

In order to meet these challenges, MEDLT is preparing a draft law on employment support. The related planned reform of labour market institutions is going to allow for the construction of a network of efficiently managed voivodeship labour offices and employment support centres, to be established on the basis of the existing district labour offices.

The changes are going to cover the issuance of health insurance, which is going to be independent from unemployment status. In result, the employment support centres are going to primarily implement activities focused on active forms of assistance for the unemployed, persons in search of employment, the economically inactive, the employed and employers. The planned changes are going to change the perception of new employment support centres as modern, supportive, efficient and customer-friendly institutions.

On the other hand, voivodeship labour offices are going to continue their tasks of, among others, coordinating labour market support at the regional level. They are also going to closely cooperate with universities and training centres to support the planning of professional competence development for employees.

Spatial planning reform

According to estimates by the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland loses at least PLN 84 billion each year due to spatial disorder. The current law regulating spatial planning was established 18 years ago and must be adapted to contemporary needs.
Objectives of the reform

• preventing the dispersion of development into agricultural, forest and naturally valuable areas,
• facilitating investment in already developed areas,
• digitisation of spatial planning data,
• greater transparency of public consultations.

We plan to introduce a new, two-tier system of spatial planning. It is going to be based on a general plan – a local legal act covering the entire area of the municipality and setting the framework for spatial development. The specific land use is going to be indicated on the basis of a development plan, an Integrated Investment Project or a location decision.
Urban planning standards are also going to be developed in order to ensure that the residents have access to appropriate infrastructure and necessary services. They are going to create a mechanism for limiting the issuing of location decisions for sites unsuited to the needs of future residents. The reform is currently at the pre-consultation stage.

Digitalisation of investment and construction procedures

The digitisation of the construction process is one of the greatest challenges, which additionally opens up an opportunity for development in the field of construction. In addition to the Ministry of Economic Development, the General Office of Building Control is also involved in a number of activities related to this issue. A landmark moment for digitalisation in the construction industry is the Act of 10 December 2020 on amending certain acts supporting the development of housing, introducing amendments to, among others, the Act of 7 July 1994– Construction Law. It allows to submit certain documents required for the investment and construction process by electronic means. The opportunity to apply on-line is divided into stages. Within the first stage, i.e., from February, 13 forms can be completed and issued via the e-budownictwo [e-construction] service. These include, among others, a notification to the construction supervision authority of the intended date of commencement of construction works, an application for a demolition permit, an application for the transfer of a construction permit decision or submitting a notification regarding demolition. These measures constitute a decisive step towards a modern approach to the process. The need for such solutions has been raised by multiple representatives of the construction industry for many years. This need was further emphasised by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Digitalisation is primarily intended to simplify the procedures involved in the process. This is going to increase the pace of activities taken by all stakeholders and remove the barrier which hinders the pace at which administrative matters are handled. Digitalisation is also going to clearly establish the chronology in which administrative cases are processed by process participants, thus positively affecting the transparency. This is also going to give rise to further measures - the digitalisation of administration and the construction industry are going to interact, producing a synergistic effect - a coherent, modern approach to the construction process.