PM Morawiecki: we will spend 30 bln zlotys more to support Polish businesses

The government announced more restrictions last month to stop the spread of COVID-19, closing shops in shopping malls, hotels and hairdressers and other businesses.

"We want to free further funds in the amount of up to 30 billion zlotys to rescue Polish companies," Morawiecki told a press conference.

"So far, the support for businesses has amounted over 200 billion zlotys. All of it has been absorbed through various sorts of financial aide programmes directly from the state budget and by state-controlled institutions" - he added.

"The pandemic won't budge and so we launch new initiatives. Jobs, jobs, and jobs once more" - Morawiecki stressed.

He also pointed out that Eurostat has recently confirmed effectiveness of Polish aide programmes, as Poland had the lowest unemployment in Europe in the middle of the third wave of the pandemic.

According to the PM, the government is to propose new rental regulations for places such as shopping malls, which had to close due to the pandemic.

Business owners renting space in shopping centres larger than 2,000 m2 will receive 80-percent rent discounts for the period when their shops need to be closed. Furthermore, 3 months after the ban has been lifted, the rents are to be reduced by 50 percent.

According to the presented information, commercial landlords will have a right to set a higher rent price, as long as they can prove the discount rate was disproportionate to actual losses of the tenant.

"Catering and hotel industries have been most heavily affected by the third wave, and support mechanism for them will be continued after the this wave has receded, so they could really bounce off the bottom. There will be additional financial aide mechanism for their operations" - the prime minister said.

Morawiecki did not specify what mechanism he had in mind.

Poland reported new daily record of 35,251 coronavirus cases earlier on Thursday, health ministry data showed, as the country grapples with a third wave of the pandemic that has pushed its health service to its limits.

In total, the country of 38 million has reported 2,356,970 cases of the coronavirus and 53,665 deaths.