Month: January 2008

After six years of negotiation, EU lawmakers have passed the heavily disputed consumer credit directive.

All Polish small- and medium-sized enterprises that want to gain foreign certificates may receive a national bailout. The government will reimburse the costs of consultative offers as well as the preparing and translation of the technical documents, the daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita reports.

Rapid breakthroughs in biology, medicine and genetic engineering have led many governments to recognize the need for legal and ethical regulations guaranteeing that these sciences do not violate people’s rights or dignity.

The German town of Loknitz has become a bedroom community for Poles working 18 kilometers away in the Polish city of Szczecin – but neo-Nazis are trying to drive the Poles out of Loknitz.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk early this week announced he had nominated an expert on the former Communist bloc as his security coordinator, after the previous postholder stepped down.

Even though 2007 brought a major breakthrough in the Polish broadband Internet market, it’s still among the worst developed in Europe. However, the end of the government communications monopoly of TP S.A. gives hope to Internet users in Poland for lower prices and better quality.

The Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal have prepared their annual Economic Freedom Report. Poland has no reason to be proud. According to the 2008 Index of Economic Freedom which covers 162 countries and 10 specific freedoms – such as trade freedom, business freedom, investment freedom and property rights – Poland was far down the list at No. 83.

Coal is king in Poland, the EU’s top producer, and Warsaw is poised for a fight to keep burning as much as possible in power stations, feeding its economy despite the pollution.