Ownership & Privatisation in Poland

Poland is set to become a member state of the EU in 2004. It was the first Central European country to engage in a fundamental transformation of its society, political system and economy. The changes have been tremendous and impressive. Ever since, Poland has become part of the broadening European integration. With its accession to the EU, cultural, educational, political, social and economic exchanges with the current EU member states will become even more important. With Poland's accession, the EU population will increase by about 10%, bringing huge opportunities and challenges for both Poland and the EU. The country has made much progress towards becoming a full-fletched European state, including radical economic reforms, institutional changes, and harmonisation of laws and regulations. Today, it is especially interesting to look at how the Polish corporate environment is changing as aresult of the reforms and European integration. What is the modern Polish corporation, how is it governed and how it is shaped by the external factors are the questions that will be discussed at the conference. The determinants of the corporate environment in Poland are fundamentally different than in developed economies, and they deserve attention as they may result in different corporate governance patterns.