Peter Swiecicki

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Firm/Organization: Squire Patton Boggs
Blogs: Brexit Legal, eSQUIRE Global Crossings, O-I-CEE!

Latest Articles

Poland’s voters head to the polls on 26 May in the elections for the European Parliament, with 51 seats at stake. Although the campaign is in full swing, an understanding of the rules for determining the winners is lacking. Whereas the rules in a simple “first past the post” election are quite easy to explain (and they provide a clear overview of the outcomes with regard to the elected candidates because the candidate in each…
UK financial market entities in Poland – A Polish Brexit bill, passed on 15 March 2019, provides a transition period for the business operations of UK financial market entities in Poland, starting from the date of a “no-deal” Brexit. This period will allow businesses to conduct any legal operations needed to cease legal relationships entered into before the day of “no-deal” Brexit, or to establish a legal basis to continue to operate in Poland (i.e.…
In the announcement of 29 January 2019, KNF-Polish Financial Supervision Authority confirmed that, in the case of no-deal Brexit, UK entities operating on the Polish financial market will be treated as third-country entities. In the wake of the recent British Parliament vote rejecting the UK’s EU withdrawal agreement, the eventuality of a no-deal Brexit has become more likely than merely a month ago. This has been corroborated by the reactions of certain European politicians who…
On November 23 this year, the Ministry of Energy published its draft Polish Energy Policy until 2040 (PEP2040). This long-awaited document is significant for both the energy sector and the entire economy; however, it is subject to social consultations until January 15, 2019, and its assumptions may (but do not have to) evolve. A Generational Structural Change A key principle of PEP2040 is the declaration to alter the structure of fuels used to generate electricity. This…
Large-scale public-private partnership (PPP) projects are not common in Poland. However, the amendment to the PPP law, which came into effect in September 2018, should change this. Therefore, we welcome the fact that, recently, the Port of Gdańsk announced a tender for a PPP advisor for the Central Sea Port Project (available in Polish). Thus, the “anchors are aweigh” for this project, which is estimated to cost between €1.4 billion and €2.14 billion,…
The Polish government has announced details of the high-speed rail network to be built in connection with its Central Communications Port (CCP) project. The PLN 40 billion (€9.25 billion) planned rail network is even more ambitious than the PLN 35 billion (€8.10 billion) airport project. With a target date of 2027, the CCP involves: Construction of new hub airport 40 km from Warsaw Reconfiguration and extension of Poland’s rail network with CCP as its hub…
On July 1, 2018 the so-called split payment mechanism was introduced into the Polish legal system. Split payment refers to the splitting of invoice payments in B2B relations between a supplier’s current bank account and a VAT account, which is automatically opened by banks as an account directly linked to current accounts. Funds constituting the VAT portion of an invoice payment are transferred to and from such VAT accounts. The split payment mechanism in Poland…
President Duda has signed the new law on the Central Communications Port (CCP) (see our summary of the new law here and it will take effect on 20 June 2018. However, questions remain on the scope of Poland’s mega-investment project. Prime Minister’s Volte A key element of the plan for CCP is that the existing Warsaw Chopin Airport (which is currently used by approximately 16 million passengers annually, with potential growth to capacity of 22-24 million)…
The Polish government is rapidly moving forward with plans for Poland’s new mega-airport. Proposed implementing legislation has been prepared and circulated for initial comments, an extensive concept document has been prepared, the office of the project’s plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Infrastructure has taken shape, an advisory council for the project has been appointed, and a tender is being prepared for selection of a consortium to design the project, with such selection to be concluded…
Significant changes will affect Poland’s highest court when President Andrzej Duda, as expected, signs new legislation just passed by Parliament. The changes are far-reaching, but among the major changes are: Creation of a division of extraordinary control with new jurisdiction – A new chamber of the Supreme Court called the “Chamber for Extraordinary Control and Public Matters” (Izba Kontroli Nadzwyczajnej i Spraw Publicznych) will be created. Initially, the new Chamber will have the authority to…