Poland fails to convince EU on shipyard restructuring

The Polish Minister of the Economy Aleksander Grad has reportedly failed to convince the European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes to accept a plan on the restructuring of the Polish shipyards in Gdansk and Gdynia, northern Poland. In a meeting in Brussels last Friday, Grad presented to the EU Commissioner his plan regarding the sale of the Gdynia Shipyard to the Ukrainian investor and owner of the Gdansk Shipyard, the company ISD.

“We have concluded a preliminary agreement with ISD regarding preparation of a shared restructuring program for the Gdynia and Gdansk Shipyards”, the Minister said after the meeting with Kroes.

The European Commission criticised the assumptions of the Polish-Ukrainian restructuring plan. In an official announcement, Kroes expressed “serious reservations” as to the joint plan for Gdansk and Gdynia. Kroes said that the restructuring plan presented by Grad had failed to meet the restructuring criteria set by the EC, such as financing of the companies from their own funds, ensuring their long-term profitability and limiting the shipyards? production output to offset state intervention.

Grad made a commitment that by 26 June, Poland would present amended restructuring plans for the Gdansk and Gdynia Shipyards, as well as an emergency plan for the shipyard in Szczecin, north-western Poland. Kroes warned that should the amended Polish plans fail to be fully compliant with the EC?s criteria, she would have no choice but to propose that the EC express a negative decision regarding the Polish state?s financial aid granted to the shipyards and that the funds received by the companies be repaid to the state budget.

Such negative decision by the EC would result in the bankruptcy of the shipyards in question. Three years ago, the EC estimated the financial state aid granted to the three Polish shipyards at five billion zlotys.