Opinion
Waiting for the Polish presidency Prof. Małgorzata Zaleska, PhD
The author is a member of the board of the National Bank of Poland, full professor at the Department of Banking at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), member of the Presidium of the Committee on Financial Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Polish presidency of the EU Council, which falls in the second half of 2011 is just around the corner. On 1 July 2011, Poland will take over the presidency from Hungary, and at the end of the year it will pass it on to Denmark. Without a doubt, the beginning is important, but so is the course of the presidency. We have to remember not to repeat the unfortunate events from the beginnings of other presidencies. For example, the beginning of the Hungarian presidency is remembered for the debate over changes in the media law. The presidency is associated with both substantive and organisational challenges. Referring to the first matter, the initial list of priorities of the Polish presidency should be mentioned. It covers a broad spectrum of issues related to the internal market, the EU’s relations with Eastern European countries, energy policy, European defence policy and the multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020. As part of the issues related to the functioning of financial markets, the key matters raised under the Polish presidency are to be the projects already under discussion relating to crisis management, the introduction of additional charges or taxes payable by the banking sector, modification of the Capital Requirements Directive, i.e. an increase in the capital requirements of banks to cover bank risk, and also referring to the Directive on Responsible Lending and Borrowing of Mortgage Credits. Certainly, there may be other, additional, initiatives in response to current, nonstandard events, requiring “damage control.” At the same time we should not expect revolutionary undertakings from the Polish presidency, as the presiding country is one of the 27 EU countries making decisions while not
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having a preferential vote. The course and effects of the presidency also depend on the adopted model of leadership. In principle, two models are singled out: striving for emphasis on and implementation of political ambitions by the presiding country or being the intermediary, the coordinator of works, seeking compromise and consensus on matters of substance. It should be emphasised that the recent presidencies, particularly the Belgian one proceeded rather according to the “coordinator model.” Poland is also facing significant challenges from the point of view of organisational preparation for the EU presidency. This is a big logistic challenge requiring proper coordination. In this respect the Team of Rapid Information and Analysis of the European Dossier (ZWIAD), which is likely to meet every day, will play a special role. Notwithstanding the foregoing, virtually all central and government institutions, with a particular role for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be involved in the work of the presidency. The complexity and the number of issues discussed and the short time for the preparation of positions and actions will certainly require flexibility and overtime from the persons involved in the presidency. It must be stressed that the presidency creates opportunities for many entities assisting it, including those providing accommodation, conference organisation and translation services. This will also involve the need to organise tender procedures, which requires a large amount of work, lengthens the procedure and creates an additional risk of selecting not the best option. Therefore, the presidency creates additional jobs for a specified period of time (during the tenure of the presidency). For the period of the presidency
liaison officers are employed to, for example, assist delegations in the country of the presidency. These individuals and others, including officials, participate in special, dedicated training programmes on the functioning of the EU, which contributes to the greater knowledge of this topic among part of the society. These individuals will also become the showcase for Poland, next to other very important promotional campaigns. In this context, the logo of the Polish presidency will play a special role, the official launch of which is scheduled for 14 May 2011. It follows from the above that the functioning of the presidency of the EU is complex. It enables the presentation of the country, including its non-political and non-economic values, in the international arena, particularly in Europe. In Poland it has also been decided that various meetings under the presidency will take place not only in Warsaw but also in other large cities, for example, in Kraków and Wrocław. This solution, of course, hampers logistics, because of Polish problems with transport infrastructure, including the poor quality of Polish roads, but it also allows the presentation and promotion of selected Polish regions. It is worth mentioning that during the presidency, in connection with the several thousand meetings of the presidency, Poland will be visited by tens of thousands of delegates, several thousand journalists, and several thousand different suppliers. Therefore, the exercising of the presidency naturally creates a temporary increase in demand for certain products and services, as well as additional jobs, as has already been mentioned. It also has an educational dimension which can yield benefits not only in the short-term perspective. In conclusion, we all should wish for ourselves that the Polish presidency of the EU inscribes in our, and the European, memory as a success. Similar wishes can now be formulated for the following year, in the context of the organisation of an international sports event by Poland - the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament. ::