What goes on in Poland on the 8th of July.
Poland is getting ready for a crisis
The Monetary Policy Council and the parliament are responding to the record inflation in Poland by raising interest rates below the average estimated by analysts and extending the anti-inflationary shield lowering energy and fuel prices.
The Monetary Policy Council decided to increase interest rates by 50 basis points with the average forecast of analysts ranging from this level to 77 pp. This move may anticipate an economic crisis. The Central Statistical Office reported that inflation in Poland in June was 15,6 percent. The law on credit holidays adopted by the Sejm after the Senate’s amendments was used to extend the anti-inflationary shield reducing fuel and energy prices from July 31 to October 31, 2022. It is a reaction to the expectation that the energy crisis will worsen in the fall and winter.
VAT on fuel lowered from 23 to 8 percent, on electricity and heat to 5 percent and on gas to zero will apply until the end of October. The same will be true of reduced excise duty on energy and certain fuels, as well as exemptions from it for households. The act is awaiting the signature of the President of the Republic of Poland.
Sejm supports projects on the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO
The parliamentary committees of foreign affairs and national defense supported the projects concerning the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO. According to the deputies, the accession of these countries to the Alliance is a historic moment and an increase in Poland’s security.
The first readings of the bills were carried out at the committee meeting on Wednesday. One of them assumes the approval of the president’s ratification of the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on Finland’s accession to NATO, and the other – Sweden. Pursuant to the bills, they enter into force on the day following their promulgation. The committees did not propose any amendments to the projects.