The World Bank has agreed to lend Poland $300 million to help finance the restructuring of its mining industry, a program that calls for 25,000 job cuts
Published:
22 November 2003 y., Saturday
The World Bank has agreed to lend Poland $300 million to help finance the restructuring of its mining industry, a program that calls for 25,000 job cuts, the economy ministry said Friday.
The plan by Prime Minister Leszek Miller's government is aimed at turning around an industry that lost 1 billion zlotys ($230 million) last year.
The government, which is trying to cut its budget deficit as Poland prepares to join the European Union next May, expects to cut spending on the industry -- which currently employs some 140,000 miners -- by at least 20 billion zlotys ($5.1 billion) by 2007.
The economy ministry said the government and the World Bank would sign the loan agreement in March 2004.
The first tranche of $200 million will be used to cover benefits for laid-off miners -- among them low-interest loans allowing them to retrain or set up their own businesses. The remaining $100 million will cover an environmental clean-up effort.
The Polish government is counting on EU funding to help cover the remaining cost of the restructuring drive -- estimated at 9.4 billion zlotys ($2.36 billion) between 2004 and 2006. The plans have sparked frequent and vocal protests by Polish miners.
On Monday, some 25,000 miners across the depressed southern region of Silesia staged a strike to protest the reform.
Šaltinis:
newsday.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Women in the EU earn on average 18% less than men - a gap that has scarcely narrowed over the last 15 years and in some countries has even grown.
more »
43 gas and electricity projects to split €2.3bn, the most the EU has ever spent on energy infrastructure in a single package.
more »
Georgia and the European Union have initialled a comprehensive air services agreement at a meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, today which will open up and integrate the respective markets, strengthen cooperation and offer new opportunities for consumers and operators.
more »
In order to vitalize and strengthen cooperation of business stakeholders in the region, the Nordic and Baltic countries continue running joint mobility programme.
more »
The EBRD is boosting the availability of financing to the real economy sector in Serbia, with a €20 million credit line to Société Générale Serbia for on-lending to small and medium enterprises.
more »
The EBRD is supporting the development of the private sector in Armenia and increases further the availability of financing in the real economy sector with a $10 million loan to Ameriabank for on lending to local companies under its Medium Sized Co-financing Facility (MCFF).
more »
The EBRD is supporting the modernisation and improvement of transport infrastructure in Albania with a €50 million sovereign loan to finance the rehabilitation of regional and local roads in the country.
more »
Given the deep impact Latvia has suffered in the wake of the global crisis, and due to the emergency nature of this program, the first operation will focus mainly on the first and second objectives.
more »
Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will visit Africa March 7-11, to discuss opportunities and challenges facing African economies in the wake of the global crisis.
more »
Without enough money, the EU 2020 strategy risks turning into "another vague scoreboard for the Member States", the EP Budgets Committee warned on Thursday when adopting its priorities for the 2011 budget.
more »