Polish Deputy Prime Minister Kolodko believes in the EU membership

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Grzegorz Kolodko, who visited Finland on Monday, 24 March, is confident that a distinct majority of the Polish people will vote in favour of the country's EU membership in a referendum in June. European integration will benefit Poland in the long run, particularly after transition to the euro zone, possibly as early as in 2007, said Kolodko at a press conference in Helsinki on Monday. "After that, as much as 1.5 percent of the economic growth can be attributed directly to the integration", he said. Kolodko is considered one of the key architects of Poland's economic reform.

Poland will become a member of the EU in 2004 provided the decision is endorsed by a referendum on 8 June. Kolodko says the only real threat to membership is a turnout of less than 50 percent of the voters. However, current surveys portrait a turnout of about 70 percent.

A few years ago Poland's economy was growing at a higher rate than any other economy in Europe and although the growth has diminished since, the economy is now picking up, said Kolodko. The growth prognosis for 2003 is 3.5 percent and the government seeks to stabilise it at 5 percent.

The Polish EU membership is not important only to the Polish, said Kolodko, but also to its new EU partners and particularly to countries such as Finland with traditional good trade relations with Poland. "Poland is the most important of the new EU member countries with regard to the size of its market", said Kolodko. The population of Poland is nearly 40 million.

A fresh boost to the Finnish-Polish trade and economic relations was given by a recent contract by the Finnish Patria to sell 690 new generation Patria personnel carriers to Poland. Kolodko sees the offset of the deal, the envisaged Finnish investments and technology transfer, as the most important aspect of the contract for Poland. After Estonia, Poland is the biggest trade partner of Finland in the former Eastern Europe. In 2002, the balance of trade was 1.2 billion euros. The increase in import came to a standstill last year after previous years of growth. Also Finland's export to Poland declined last year for the first time in seven years. The surplus for Finland was 431 million euros in 2002.

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Kolodko met with Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Jari Vilén, Finance Minister Sauli Niinistö and Governor of the Bank of Finland Matti Louekoski as well as representatives of the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers. Kolodko also lectured at the Helsinki School of Economics on Poland in the processes of European integration and globalisation.

Website of Grzegorz Kolodko(Linkki toiselle web-sivustolle.)

WEbsite of the Ministry of Finance of Poland(Linkki toiselle web-sivustolle.)