project | In Principle

According to Eurostat figures for 2021, Poland has become the EU leader in cars registered per 1,000 inhabitants, at 687. At the same time, 37% of cars registered in Poland are 10–20 years old, and more than 41% are over 20 years old. Should Poles fear the adoption of a tax on combustion-engine cars?

The Ministry of Development and Transport has published a long-awaited bill on certification of public procurement contractors. Certification is expected to make it easier for contractors to prepare bids, and increase the transparency of the contractor vetting process.

Over 12.5 million tonnes of textile waste is generated every year in the European Union. Almost half of that is clothing or shoes. The average EU resident generates about 12 kg of textile waste per year. But there are no legal regulations in place facilitating sustainable management of such waste.

Each year, nearly a million used vehicles are exported from Europe, often in very poor condition. They mainly end up in Africa, where they pollute the environment and pose a risk to humans. At the same time, around 3.5 million vehicles a year disappear without a trace from European roads, presumably ending up illegally exported and dismantled. But they could be a source of spare parts and critical raw materials in Europe.

For some time, the initial marketing of certain types of foods in Poland has required notification of the Chief Sanitary Inspector. The notification system for dietary supplements and functional foods has been in place in Poland for more than 20 years, and a similar system is in place in most EU member states. The most questions arise from the initiation of explanatory proceedings involving the classification and compliance of the notified product. Further doubts began to arise at the beginning of 2023, when a long-expected bill amending the regulations governing the procedure for reporting and advertising dietary supplements was published.

Parliamentary work on Poland’s draft Act on Clinical Trials of Medicinal Products for Human Use is coming to an end. According to the bill, entities involved in clinical trials and introduction of new drugs will be able to receive scientific advice from the president of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products. This will enable better preparation of tests and trials and consequently faster registration of safe and effective drugs.

The government’s draft reform of perpetual usufruct in Poland focuses on changing the rules and method for determining the price for sale of a property to its perpetual usufructuary. Additionally, perpetual usufructuaries are granted a claim to acquire the property they hold. This is part of the process of phasing out perpetual usufruct entirely.

In the face of the climate crisis, the interest in sustainability issues is growing. This increasingly brings the issue of greenwashing to the fore. “Greenwashing” refers to creation of a false impression among the public regarding the supposedly green practices applied by a business or the environmental benefits of its goods and services. Typically greenwashing is used to raise the attractiveness of goods or services in the eyes of prospective buyers, and thus to increase sales and attract customers. But sometimes the spread of misleading ecological messages is simply due to ignorance.

In November 2022, the leaves were falling from the trees to the rhythm of ESG. First, the European Parliament and then the Council of the European Union approved the draft Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Then the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group submitted the first set of draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards to the European Commission.

An end to the mass discarding of packaging and waste. Instead, recycling, refillable packaging, a deposit on plastic bottles and limits on disposable bags. Such changes are proposed in a new draft regulation of the European Commission. The changes are to be implemented gradually.

Under a proposed amendment to Poland’s Rail Transport Act, it will be easier to obtain siting decisions for rail projects and expand logistics centres and railroad sidings on rail land, and train travel should be safer.

On 21 October 2022, a draft act to amend the Energy Law and certain other acts was published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre, implementing the Polish Hydrogen Strategy. The proposal aims to create a stable regulatory environment for the hydrogen market in Poland.