In a move to slash Poland’s budget deficit the cabinet has proposed for a period of three years three VAT rates: 6%, 8% and 23%. Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance plans to cut VAT reductions in case of vehicles used for business purposes. The plan is to go before Parliament

“In Polish conditions, steel will remain a basic building and structural material. Even the crisis year of 2009 upset the position of the steel sector only for a short while,” write Romuald Talarek and Kamila Grabowska, experts of the Polish Steel Association (HIPH).

In his first address the Polish Parliament President of the National Bank of Poland (NBP) Marek Belka presented two documents: Report on implementation of monetary policy for 2009 and Report on the activities of the National Bank of Poland in 2009. These two documents examined the conditions of NBP’s monetary policy and statutorily defined central bank functions.

According to information released by the Polish News Agency (PAP), Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski is suggesting to get to a safe level of budget deficit in small and safe steps, Polish Market chief economist Jan Sosna writes. Such moves as the proposed VAT increase are able to reduce the deficit by merely 0.5% GDP. Thus, in order to achieve the desired result, an entire package (i.e. 5-10) of similar projects should be introduced.

Representatives of leading Polish insurance companies discussed cooperation opportunities with their Chinese partners at an EXPO 2010 sideline event in Shanghai on July 21. The seminar presenting the potential of the Polish insurance sector was organised by the Office of the Commissioner General of the Polish Section at EXPO 2010 in cooperation with the Polish Insurance Chamber and the Commerce and Investment Promotion Department of the Polish Consulate General in Shanghai.

The Science-Technology Park is to open in Swierk, near Warsaw, in December 2013. An agreement concerning financing the investment from EU funds was signed in Warsaw. The EU is to finance also the development of technology using radiation. The cost of both investments is estimated at PLN 90 million, with EU funding is to cover PLN 76.5 m.

A conference on co-operation between business and science and entrepreneurs’ expectations was held in Warsaw. Andrzej Kurkiewicz, a representative of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education presented the results of a study on expectations the job market has toward universities of technology.

Chopin’s music resounded at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai in Warsaw’s multimedia performance “Chopin 2.0 - new paradigm” marking the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. It featured Chopin’s music, dance and vocal performance as well as a presentation of the Polish capital where the composer spent the first half of his life.

The “Nowe Sukiennice/ New Clothmakers’ Hall” modernisation project has been completed in the division of the National Museum in Kraków – the Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art at the Sukiennice. The project is one of the largest art conservation projects in Europe. The official unveiling ceremony attended by the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski took place on July 24. The renewed Gallery in the Draper’s Hall will open to the public on September 3.

A clock was installed on the front wall of the Sport and Recreation Centre in the south-western city of Wałbrzych on July 28. It has started counting down the time to the grand opening of the Galeria Victoria entertainment and retail centre in Wałbrzych, planned on October 16. In addition, the “Jump on a billboard” campaign has been launched as a part of a campaign to promote the first shopping mall in the city. It is aimed at encouraging the inhabitants of Wałbrzych and the surrounding region to take part in a casting session to find the “faces of Galeria Victoria”. The organisers would like to invite all of the inhabitants of the region to participate in the casting session because, as its slogan says, Galeria Victoria is to be “Mine, Yours, Ours”, becoming a significant part of public life and a focal point for the local community.

Over 280 contracts were signed in Poland in the first half of 2010 with the involvement of the Retail Department of the global consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

A joint scheme developed by Polish and Ukrainian railways in the run-up to the EURO 2012 football championship to be jointly hosted by the two countries was examined at a meeting in Warsaw of the heads of two railway systems, PKP spokesman Michał Wrzosek told wnp.pl.

Maybe we’re all just a bit sensitive to the appearance of a bubble, what with having been so thoroughly splattered the last time one burst.