Let’s stop discriminating against Polish companies

During the debate about the digital strategy for Poland, Deputy Minister Dariusz Standerski said that the state is already investing to the limit, and private business is still invested little. Why?

If we talk about a situation in which the state only invests in satisfying the needs of citizens, we already had such a system. And it is rightly a last system. This is a bad way. Does the private sector invest too little? First, he invests. The minister also noticed. Does he invest a lot or little? It is already a matter of conditions created by the state. As we look at the tax system and the burden of the SME sector, it turns out that Polish entrepreneurs have a big problem with investing, because in the field of telecommunications, which I represent, we are dealing with regulation, i.e. barriers put by the state.

Any example?

Let’s assume that as a private entrepreneur I will build a telecommunications network, counting on some profits. It is then that the state enters the game, which tells me: Wait, I will not let you take a higher amount from customers for the subscription. That’s why after something like that next time I will think about whether it is worth investing in Poland at all.

The state has a lot to do in understanding our barriers. In understanding how we perceive the state, how we perceive relationships on the state-entrepreneur line. There is no consistency of governments in this respect. After each election, we have a change in approach to entrepreneurs. One government says: now we will support those in this way. The opposition says: no, you are doing wrong. When the choices come to the elections, it all changes. Old support is cut and new appears.

And in telecommunications, investments are many years. If we are to plan the investment for 10-15 years, and we know that every 4 years we have a complete change of administration, then investment in such conditions is very difficult. Our first investment problem is this instability of the legal system.

During the debate, you said that there are still preferential conditions for foreign entities in Poland to this day. Polish companies could also undertake some investment and are skipped.

Definitely yes. The first situation in which Polish entrepreneurs are discriminated against is discrimination due to size. Example from the telecommunications industry. We have a lot of Polish telecommunications entrepreneurs. In the field of stationary connections, we accounts for 30 percent. market. However, it is often small, dispersed in the country. International corporations are large entities. In the tender, it is enough to prefer the size to eliminate small, i.e. Polish entrepreneurs. There will always be a criterion that can discriminate against and this is what we see commonly in state tenders. There is another problem.

What?

The second problem is already an old problem that bypasses subsequent governments. A French company is simply preferred in telecommunications. Heir to old Polish networks built in the previous system. This company is exempt from fees for a powerful infrastructure set by Poles. Competition with this company in our own country, building our own infrastructure next to it, we must already pay for it. We are discriminated against in our own country. The Polish government, creating Polish law, discriminates against Polish entrepreneurs towards French. This is abnormal. It’s been 20 years and no government wants to take this challenge to eliminate this discrimination. I can’t imagine such a situation that as an entrepreneur I would go to France or Germany and that the government would tell me: I will give you better conditions than our native entrepreneurs. Only in Poland it is so. Our next governments are afraid to do something about it. They say this is European. No. Governments must stop being afraid to support Polish companies.