Photo: Ukrinform
The arrival of the “year of integration” is primarily associated with price increases (both occurring and expected) for a range of goods and services. It all began with the change in the usual electrical voltage from 220 to 230 volts. As a result of this transition, old televisions burned out in just six homes in the provinces, but the realization that electricity would now cost more came to everyone.
The New Year also “gifted” Poles with price increases for car fuel and postage stamps. And although in this case we are talking about small things, this gift was also unpleasant. Especially since further price increases are expected in the near future.
For example, it is known that even before the New Year, the cost of flour had been rising for some time, but bakers artificially kept bread prices in check. So the rise in bread prices, according to experts, is a matter of the near future. It is also known that prices for tobacco products will increase in January, and millions of smokers will again face the dilemma - whether to quit smoking or to set aside extra money from the family budget for their harmful habit.
If the price increases in the first days of 2004 were bad news, then Poles have long been mentally preparing themselves for the price increases from May 1, that is, after the country's accession to the EU. Moreover, those who live “not by bread alone” - for example, theatergoers and movie lovers - are also preparing for this.
According to the rules in force in EU countries, prices for theater tickets and movie tickets in Poland will rise, although experts believe that their cost in the country has already reached the “ceiling”. In their estimation, the current price of $4-5 per movie ticket is the maximum that an average Pole is willing to pay. This problem, by the way, worries not only art lovers, but also school teachers and sociologists, who remind that for most young people, cinema is the first contact with culture.
Another area where young people in particular will feel the price increases painfully is Internet services. So far, Polish providers pay VAT at 7%, but from May 1 this tax - as part of harmonizing tariffs with the EU - must increase to 22%. Accordingly, payments by ordinary Internet users will also increase.
For the same reason, from the moment of accession to the EU, apartments, building materials, and everything related to construction in general will become more expensive in Poland. And this, as is easy to guess, will lead to an increase in rent and higher housing rental costs. According to various forecasts, prices in this area will rise by 10-15%. Additional costs also await stock market players, who will have to pay a 19 percent tax on profits received this year.
But what frightens Polish citizens most about the already known price changes is what is not yet known but can be guessed. The Polish press from time to time provides reasons for such guesses. For example, the question arises as to what will happen to food prices when a significant proportion of Polish meat or dairy producers cease to exist because they will not meet EU requirements (sanitary, environmental and other standards) or simply cannot withstand competition?
The other day, in an interview with the PAP news agency, Deputy Economy Minister Jerzy Pilarczyk said that at least 40 dairy enterprises and 1,000 meat producers would be closed on May 1. Their place in the market is likely to be taken by European concerns that have long been operating in accordance with EU requirements. But will their goods be sold at the same price?
The Polish government declares that by May 1, the products of 170 dairy plants and 1,500 meat industry enterprises will meet European standards, but few market analysts take these declarations seriously. If they didn't manage it in a few years, it's unlikely they will do it in a few months, experts comment.
True, a certain number of Polish food enterprises (about 300 meat and about 100 dairy) received a so-called “protective transition period” until 2006 to bring their production into line with EU norms, but whether they will be able to do so is an open question. After all, during this period they will not only be deprived of the right to sell their goods on European markets, but their products will also be marked with special symbols, which may also repel Polish buyers.
In contrast to ordinary citizens and private entrepreneurs, the benefits of EU membership for the Polish state are theoretically guaranteed. It is already known that Poland's contribution to the EU's common treasury in 2004 will amount to 1.344 billion euros (168 million euros per month). During the same period, from the EU budget, Poland (again theoretically) can receive in various forms 1.55 billion euros more than it will contribute.
However, doubts are already appearing in the Polish press about the size of the expected financial assistance from the European Union. And not because “the EU will deceive”, but because Polish officials and the state budget are often unable to fulfill the conditions that make it possible to use the multi-million sums of European money intended for Poland. “Last year Poland used about 650 million euros in EU aid,” writes the Rzeczpospolita newspaper. “This is a third less than Brussels estimated. If the pace of EU investment implementation does not double this year, then we will be the ones paying extra for our membership in the Community.”