It's Big Money: Cash from Earnings Comes Home
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WEEKLY 3,00 zloty (with 7% VAT) Published by: Jargon Media Sp. z o.o. Index Number: 236683 ISSN: 1898-4762 NO. 37 WWW.KRAKOWPOST.COM JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 6, 2008 It’s big money: Cash from earnings comes home Tusk to propose new pipeline scheme The controversial Nord Stream natural gas pipeline will most certainly be a major topic when Prime Minister Donald Tusk visits Russia 2 U.S. historian hits nerve with book Gross has sparked a storm of con- troversy in his Polish homeland with a book on anti-Semitism in Poland and the murder of Jews in WWII’s aftermath 3 Radwanska makes mark in Australia In Melbourne, 18-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska took another big step on her road to the top of world tennis 4 Funds granted to martial law victims Ten thousand people connected to the Solidarity movement may receive gov’t compensation 6 According to the Polish Central Bank, GBP 3 bln were sent to Poland in 2007 by Poles throughout Europe, of which an estimated GBP 1.8 bln came from the UK. Denmark backs Adelina Krupski which offers safe transfer and collection of Poles working in the UK and Ireland, for entrance into the EU, left home because she STAFF JOURNALIST money via e-mail, making the process imme- instance, are earning enough to support them- was unemployed. Poland on EU milk diate and inexpensive. selves and their families in Poland. Like many in a similar situation, Iwona be- Poland has Denmark’s backing Polish citizens working abroad are sending According to Ania, who left Poland while While some turn to emigration as the only gan to work illegally in hotels and restaurants. as it pushes for a 5.0-percent their earnings, which total billions of pounds it was under communism and now works in way to get by, even if it means leaving their She progressively learned English and worked every year, back to Poland. According to the London as a member of the managerial team family to live in an overcrowded apartment her way up to a managerial position in a major increase in EU milk production 8 Polish Central Bank, 3 bln pounds were sent to of an international hypermarket chain, these with strangers, others choose the move to gain retail store. While she rarely sends money or Poland in 2007 by Poles throughout Europe, of services were not available a few years ago, additional experience, or assimilate English lan- gifts back to her parents in Poland, Iwona has which an estimated 1.8 bln pounds came from but now they are even accessible at corner guage through cultural immersion, while, in the her daughter living with her and plans to stay Wizzair launches the UK. stores. She also states that she has come across meantime, enhancing their living standards. in England, maintaining contact with her fam- This record-breaking amount not only ex- many Polish students who are living in Lon- Analysts state that the flow of money into ily through frequent visits. ceeds the 2006 figure by 10 percent, but is ex- don, balancing several jobs just to pay off their Poland has caused internal consumption to However, having many Polish friends who new Poznan base pected to grow even further in 2008. education. escalate, especially within residential and au- temporarily work in London and plan to take Moreover, these figures are likely to be Having experienced the many social tomotive markets. their earnings back to Poland, Iwona says Together with the base, the understated, as they only take into account changes resulting from the influx of Poles to One related case involves a man who there are some who, unlike her, are less ambi- company is also opening four money orders and electronic transfers, omit- England, Ania recalls that travel used to be moved to England on impulse to work as a tious. She states that some women join their new routes to Oslo, Malmo, ting those workers, who avoid official meth- expensive, people had to plan ahead of time bus driver for three years while his wife con- working husbands simply to take care of the Doncaster and Glasgow 13 ods by traveling with cash and those who work and apply for a visa, but now they have the op- tinued to pursue her career in Poland and take children and home. illegally. Nonetheless, the phenomenon has portunity to travel freely, without the pressure care of their children. He returned to Warsaw Evidently, every case is different. Official turned money movement into a big business. of having to settle. in December 2007 and, though there was no data states that some 400,000 Poles have emi- Transferring money to Poland is the most As a result, many Poles go abroad on a particular need for extra funds, the money that grated to Great Britain, while unofficial re- popular financial service used by Polish emi- short term basis, rent cheap accommodation, had been saved allowed his family to invest in ports mention even one mln. In addition, sev- grants. Banks such as PKO BP and National and are not choosy about the kind of job they land and purchase two motorcycles. eral hundred thousand Polish citizens plan to Westminster even have special offers dedi- accept. Typically, they work to either send Wishing to remain anonymous, he said his assume jobs there shortly. On the other hand, cated to Poles leaving for Britain, which allow their earnings to family in Poland or to save stay in England provided him with a great deal the Center for International Relations based transfers to be performed without charge. and later invest in property or start their own of experience, and that his standard of life has in Warsaw recently revealed that only 23 per- Other companies providing methods of business. More importantly, having spent improved, though he is very pleased to have cent of Poles in Britain intend to stay, while transmitting money include Western Union, some time away, their attitude towards life and returned to his family and started a new job. 51 percent plan to move back. Trends such as who has recognized the demand and employs work has changed, returning to Poland with a Quite on the opposite end of the scale, the weakening of the pound sterling may cause Polish-speaking staff, and Money Bookers, fresh perspective. Iwona, who moved to London before Poland’s thousands of Poles to return home. 2 The Krakow Post POLAND JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 6 R E G I O N A L N E W S Russia warns against “surprises” Education if Putin attends NATO summit Russia’s new ambassador to NATO warned the Tusk to propose minister alliance late last week against coming up with un- pleasant “surprises” if President Vladimir Putin ac- cepts an invitation to the alliance’s next summit. wants to Dmitry Rogozin, a hardline nationalist politician, said Moscow was still considering whether to accept the invitation announced to the NATO summit on April 2-4. leave uniform Calling the invitation “interesting,” Rogozin said: new pipeline scheme “It’s extremely important that at the NATO summit in Bucharest we don’t encounter any surprises that decision to could complicate Russia-NATO cooperation even more.” Russia strongly opposes the enlargement of NATO to Eastern European countries that were un- schools der its control in Soviet times. www.premier.gov.pl Earlier this month Russia’s pro-Western neighbor the krakow post Ukraine asked NATO to approve its “membership action plan” at the summit, a step that would mean Minister of Education Katarzyna Hall the country becoming an official candidate for mem- has announced that school uniforms should bership. no longer be compulsory in Polish elemen- But Rogozin said Ukraine or Georgia, another ex- tary and junior high schools. This means Soviet republic pushing for NATO membership, did that the controversial rule introduced by not meet the necessary criteria. He claimed that millions of Ukrainians working Hall’s predecessor in Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s in Russia would suffer directly from Ukraine join- government may last less than a year. ing NATO, as Kyiv would inevitably impose visa But Hall does not want to require all restrictions on Russians. schools to get rid of the uniforms. The pro- This would lead to an “adequate” response by posed solution will leave the decision on Moscow, he said, implying the imposition of corre- whether they should be worn by pupils to sponding visa restrictions on Ukrainians. school councils and their parents. “Let Ukrainian politicians ... explain that as soon “I believe schools should have autonomy as Ukraine joins the alliance or is on the threshold of the alliance it will be obliged to introduce visas for and their councils should decide whether citizens of Russia,” he said. to have uniforms or not. The parliament “I presume that in that case Russia will react ad- should change the law soon,” Hall said in equately. Millions of Ukrainian citizens working on an interview for RMF radio. She said she Russian territory today, on building sites, in compa- has already discussed the issue with MPs. nies, who send home their money earned in Russia Obligatory uniforms were introduced in to support their families – these people will encoun- September 2007 after the parliament adopt- ter catastrophic consequences,” he said. ed a bill proposed by controversial right- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks with Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko wing Education Minister Roman Giertych. on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in He argued that uniforms improve security Davos, Switzerland, in an apparent gesture of sup- in schools as well as help fight drug deal- port for Kyiv’s NATO hopes.