In an interview with Money.pl, Marzena Czarnecka, the Minister of Industry, stated the state of the Polish mining industry was tragic. According to the Minister, some of the reasons include substantial subsidies from the State Treasury and excessive coal reserves amassed by PM Morawiecki coupled with continued deliveries of the raw material.
- The Minister said that the government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki imported huge amounts of coal, which clogged the mounds. In her opinion, this needs to change completely, especially that Poland already has coal reserves, and yet continues to import.
- „Second, if you’re looking for a CEO quickly, who will you find? What kind of a manager can quit and change jobs overnight? There is only one such case, that is, someone who is unemployed,” the Minister replied when asked why it was taking so long to appoint new CEOs at state-owned companies.
- „The NABE project in its current form, in student jargon, is a 'buried’ project. On the other hand, we will undoubtedly go in the direction of combining production with mining. This requires both actions that must be taken on the part of energy companies, in connection with loans and financing of this activity, but also with mines that also dream of having a permanent recipient of coal,” said the politician.
Marzena Czarnecka, Minister of the newly established Ministry of Industry, gave an interview to the Money.pl portal. When asked what the current state of the Polish mining industry was, the politician answered in one word: tragic. She justified her assessment with significant subsidies from the State Treasury.
The Minister said that the government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki imported huge amounts of coal, which clogged the mounds. In her opinion, this needs to change completely, especially that Poland already has coal reserves, and yet continues to import.
„This is a serious mistake by President Wojciech Dąbrowski and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who led to a rough situation. Coal, which was supposed to be imported for households, is de facto a raw material for heating and for power plants. It is apparent that neither had an idea how this works. This coal had to be sieved, after which we were left with 10-15 percent of the coal that we wanted to import, and all the rest is on the mounds,” she told Money.pl.
Irregularities will be reported to the relevant authorities, however, after the ministry has collected detailed data. Minister Czarnecka also commented about replacing the CEOs of state-owned companies and why it was taking so long.
„All this requires procedures and deadlines required by law for companies, including announcements and competitions. Second, if you’re looking for a CEO quickly, who will you find? What kind of a manager can quit and change jobs overnight? There is only one such case, that is, someone who is unemployed. The managers that we would like to bring from private companies, from the market – who competed in competitions-must have time for the notice period, they must prepare for it. To get a high-class manager, it takes six months,” explained the Minister.
Czarnecka also referred to the miners, and their demands for increases. She explained that this would require the social agreement to be renegotiated, as it determines the size of the pay raises. The amendment of the agreement itself would render the notification request to the European Commission null and void.
„Besides, whether we can afford increases, really depends on whether the company can afford them. If so, then the boards will give them to the employees, and if not, then there is a problem that the new boards have to deal with,” she added.
When asked, the Minister confirmed that there were no plans to shut down the plants. The politician also referred to the NABE project, created by the government of Prime Minister Morawiecki.
„The NABE project in its current form, in student jargon, is a 'buried’ project. On the other hand, we will undoubtedly go in the direction of combining production with mining. This requires both actions that must be taken on the part of energy companies, in connection with loans and financing of this activity, but also with mines, which also dream of having a permanent coal customer,” she said.
The interview also cited a project that would create a link between mines and energy companies. As an example, the minister cited the Bogdanka coal mine, which supplies coal with a large content of sulfur to the Kozienice Power Plant. However, since the plant has been adapted to this type of coal, it all works well.
„It seems simple. The unions say the same thing, the energy companies say the same thing, the boards of coal companies say the same thing,” the Minister commented.
On the issue of nuclear energy, the politician said that we will have to „wait a little longer.”
„The Prime Minister and the Polish government-we are in a very difficult situation, because there are no areas that would not require subsidies. In Poland, after our predecessors, the state pays for everything from A to Z, regardless of whether it is rational or not. We already have a lot of areas that need to be subsidized: green energy, nuclear, mining, and even energy prices,” she added.
Money.pl also asked what the future of the Turów mine is. Minister Czarnecka replied that the company should appeal the decision.
„We certainly need to look at them,” said the politician on the issue of Orlen agreements on SMRs. „The new management of Orlen must first conduct an audit and show us what is included in these agreements,” she added.
Compiled by Marcin Karwowski