During his visit to the head office of the European Commission, Vice Prime Minister Gowin held a number of bilateral meetings. He talked to Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Competition Margrethe Vestager, Vice-President of the European Commission for Trade Vladis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Labour Nicolas Schmit and European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski.

The topics of discussions included the economic situation of Europe due to the coronavirus pandemic and the recovery of the economy of EU states after the COVID-19 crisis. Issues concerning support for Polish entrepreneurs and employees on the European market, the development of modern technologies and the new industrial policy of the EU were discussed. The discussions covered also matters regarding green and digital transformation and the implementation of the idea of climate-neutral European economy.

‘In order to overcome serious disturbances in economy, it is necessary to ensure access to funding and financial liquidity for enterprises and to compensate affected companies for losses caused by the COVID-19 epidemic,’ said Vice Prime Minister Gowin during his conversation with Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Competition Margrethe Vestager.

During the meeting with European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, the Minister of Development, Labour and Technology discussed the issue of the EU market.

‘The properly functioning uniform market should be in the centre of the repair process. However, we should not only focus on restoring the proper functioning of the uniform market, but also work on its further development to reinforce its resistance to future crises,’ said Minister Gowin. He stressed:

‘We should start talking about specific practices and regulations applied both on the EU and national level that are regarded as barriers on the uniform market by entrepreneurs.’

And he continued:

‘We all speak with one voice about the need to remove barriers on the uniform market – however, there have been few practical results in this respect for entrepreneurs so far. Now it is time for specific actions, both on the EU and national level.’

Minister Gowin also referred to the EU’s industrial policy.

 

‘Poland has huge potential in industrial policy, because, unlike many Western European countries, we have consistently focused on the development of Polish industry,’ emphasised the vice prime minister.

‘The priority for Poland is the fairness of the twofold transformation of EU industry and economy,’ he said. He stressed: ‘We cannot afford to lose emissions and domestic production in branches of key importance for the implementation of goals of twofold transformation, such as steel. This is why we need a clear indication of instruments for the support of transformation of energy-intensive sectors in the strategy and proposals ensuring equal opportunities with regard to environmental, social and product safety standards for European producers and their global rivals.’

‘We hope that the Alliance and support for European producers of raw materials will prove very useful in carrying out the transformation of the mining industry and the optimum use of human capital. This should have a favourable impact on the social acceptance of planned changes and on the development of possibilities of extracting critical raw materials in Poland and Europe,’ said Vice Prime Minister Gowin.

The Head of the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology emphasised the importance of continuing negotiations with Great Britain in order to agree upon the signature of a trade co-operation agreement between the EU and GB. ‘We want to ensure that entrepreneurs are affected to the smallest possible extent by changes resulting from the end of the transition period on 31st December 2020,’ stressed Minister Gowin.

During the Brussels meetings, the issue of the disagreement between Poland and Hungary on one side and the European Commission on the other side as to the rule-of-law conditionality for the future EU budget was also brought up.

‘It is in the interest of the entire EU to elaborate a compromise on the rule-of-law conditionality. The recent proposal from the German presidency creates a risk that these vague provisions may be used for restricting the access of particular states to EU funds. Today we are talking about Poland and Hungary, but this may concern other states in the future,’ said Vice Prime Minister Gowin in the EC.

Uniform EU market

During the meeting with Commissioner Thierry Breton, Minister Gowin presented the position of Poland on the uniform EU market. In the opinion of our country, the properly functioning uniform market should be in the centre of the repair process. ‘However, we should not only focus on restoring the proper functioning of the uniform market, but also work on its further development to reinforce its resistance to future crises,’ stressed the vice prime minister.

He also emphasised that the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be used as an excuse for the introduction of protectionist measures by EU states.

‘Poland wants to talk about specific practices and regulations applied both on the EU and national level that are regarded as barriers on the uniform market by entrepreneurs. In practical terms, it is necessary to explain the issue of SMET (Single Market Enforcement Task-Force) competences in areas falling within the competence of other dedicated groups and avoid the duplication of works performed by other dedicated groups.’

EU’s industrial strategy

Poland supports the course of the fair twofold transformation of European industry presented in the strategy in March 2020. In the opinion of our country, the COVID-19 pandemic showed structural weaknesses and caused new problems that must be diagnosed and analysed.

 

‘We hope that the revision of the strategy will be focused around the goal of achieving the strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty of industry in Europe,’ said the Minister of Development, Labour and Technology. This means, among others, the relocation of production to the EU and the reduction of the dependence of deliveries on third countries.

It is also important for Poland to prevent a permanent difference in the speed of development between various EU regions as a result of the disproportion between member states in public support within the scope of anti-crisis packages.

‘The priority for our country is the fairness of the twofold transformation of EU industry and economy,’ he said. ‘There will be no fairness if its benefits are not shared by employees whose skills and competences are crucial to the implementation of the ambitious goals that are set for us today. Therefore, the EU’s industrial strategy must refer more broadly to the issue of employees’ competences and skills and to indicate instruments aimed at ensuring their participation in the job change process, particularly in mining sectors.’

Poland’s involvement in IPCEI.

During talks held in the EC, the vice prime minister presented also the position of our country on Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), with particular regard to the field of electric batteries.

‘Poland is very determined to contribute to the construction of a competitive and resistant value chain in Europe in the field of electric batteries,’ said the Head of the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology during his meeting with Vice-President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maroš Šefčovič.

He stressed that there have already been many investments in this sector in Poland in the area that can be called the “half-moon of electromobility”, i.e., Wielkopolska, Lower Silesia and Silesia. He emphasised that this area is well-connected to the rest of Europe thanks to this location and the existing transport infrastructure, so conditions for the development of the production hub and the recycling of batteries in Poland are excellent.

‘We hope that it will be possible to achieve a synergy with other investments under construction in Europe,’ stressed Minister Gowin. In his opinion, it is worth developing cross-border co-operation in this field.

‘Co-operation and the integrated approach to the development of innovative branches of industry and economy is aimed at reinforcing the EU’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy also in the field of key technologies for the fair performance of the twofold transformation,’ he added.

Green transformation of EU states

Poland thinks that the goals of green and digital transformation, including the implementation of the idea of climate-friendly European economy, will be achievable only in the case of ensuring a sufficient quantity of raw materials. Therefore, it was satisfied by the European Commission’s initiative concerning the creation of the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA).

‘We perceive this step as a sign of high awareness of the current dependence of the EU on the import of raw materials necessary for strategic technologies and sectors and the role of the raw materials industry in economies in the context of transformation,’ said Jarosław Gowin.

He also appealed for the commencement of joint works on the system aimed at supporting European producers of raw materials in an effective and comprehensive manner. The alliance should contribute to an increase of the role of the EU’s strategic autonomy, thereby decreasing the dependence of Europe on third countries.

Poland was satisfied with the Commission’s plans regarding the better use of local resources. Special attention is to be devoted to regions of coal mining and other regions subjected to transformation, with particular regard to know-how and skills in the field of mining, extraction and processing technologies.

Poland’s position on minimum remuneration in the EU

During talks in Brussels between the Head of the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology and European Commissioner for Labour Nicolas Schmit, Vice Prime Minister Gowin brought up also matters concerning the draft directive of the European Parliament and the Council on adequate minimum remunerations in the European Union.

The minister emphasised that the amount of minimum remuneration in Poland rises faster than the level of average remuneration in national economy. In 2020, the forecast ratio of minimum remuneration to average remuneration in national economy accounts for 51.1%. Since 2003, when the statutory amount of minimum remuneration was introduced, its amount has increased by 225% till 2020.

Delegation of employees as a part of service provision

The Minister of Development, Labour and Technology said that the delegation of employees is a very important and sensitive issue for Poland. This is not only because of the number of employees delegated by companies based in Poland, but also because of the fact that the freedom of service provision is the foundation of the internal market.

‘Poland is opposed to any form of abuse in the employee delegation process, even if it is incidental. The conditions in which Polish employees work are an issue of utmost importance to us,’ said the vice prime minister.

Unfortunately, Polish entrepreneurs indicate that they come across many barriers when delegating employees. They have problems reaching information on many requirements functioning in many member states. And failure to meet these requirements often involves very high punishments. Administrative barriers and the absence or non-transparency of information make the freedom of providing cross-border services less attractive, thus contributing to a deterioration of the internal market. The Minister of Development, Labour and Technology expressed the hope that the European Commission would take this into consideration when taking its actions in this respect.
EU–Great Britain negotiations on the deal following the end of the transition period

In connection with the upcoming end of the transition period for the Brexit on 31st December 2020, the EU is negotiating the future deal with Great Britain, including future trade co-operation. ‘We must continue our efforts in order to reach agreement,’ stated Vice Prime Minister Gowin in Brussels.

He emphasised that the time for the finalisation of talks was running out and the UK’s position on such issues as public aid, fair competition rules and mechanisms for the control of their observance made it difficult to reach agreement. Therefore, according to the Minister of Development, Labour and Technology, it would be worth submitting legislative proposals with regard to emergency planning as fast as possible.

He stressed that Poland understood the EC’s unwillingness to undermine the negotiation process, but, because of a very short time remaining till the end of the transition period, it would be necessary to obtain an explanation concerning funds and their scope within the subsequent few days if no agreement were reached.

The vice prime minister stressed that future well-regulated economic relations with England are very significant for many Poles who live and work there and who conduct active and successful business exchange with British partners. This is also very important for Polish entrepreneurs engaged in business co-operation with Great Britain.

EU–USA relations

During talks in Brussels, the vice prime minister presented Poland’s position concerning relations between the EU and the United States. As he said: ‘Partnership with the USA should remain the key element of the EU’s foreign policy.’ In his opinion, in spite of challenges resulting from the US policy, trans-Atlantic issues should be looked at in the long run and perceived as a foundation for the current international order. Thus, it is in our common interest to ease tensions with Washington and not to transfer them from trade to other fields of co-operation.

He emphasised the need to intensify negotiations with the USA concerning technology, energy and trade. He referred to August 2020 arrangements concerning the customs rate reduction package as a positive example of co-operation, although Poland considers the scale of potential benefits in this respect to be very modest.

Poland thinks that the development of relations with the USA should also be favourable for works on the reform of the WTO system and the restoration of the role of the organisation as a guarantor of the international trade system. It is necessary to modernise the WTO towards new multilateralism leading to a broader and more balanced distribution of the benefits of globalisation. Member states of this organisation should bear joint responsibility – but proportionally to their potential – for the proper functioning of the international trade system.