President Lech Kaczynski has lined up a series of meetings and policy statements over the next week to show that he has the recipe to fight the finance crisis in Poland.

The head of state aims to show he is the one with the finger on the pulse of the economic situation in the country. On Monday he met with employers and trade unionists, while on Tuesday he is to take part in a debate with economists of the Wroclaw University of Economics. He will also outline his views as to the timing of Poland joining the ERM-2 mechanism - which the government wants to do as soon as this summer - and adopting the euro, which Prime Minister Tusk has targeted for 2012.

Lech Kaczynski tells Gazeta Wyborcza today that Poland should be in no hurry to join ERM-2 and the target date of 2012 or 2013 is “unrealistic”.

Another key event is to be the emergency EU summit in Brussels on March 1, devoted to the struggle against the recession, called by the Czech presidency to address growing concerns about the spread of protectionist responses to the economic crisis within 27 nation bloc.

After the meeting with employers and trade unionists, Monday, President Kaczynski made it clear that he supports preservation of jobs, with the state intervening in the economy by spending on public works, a key policy of the opposition Law and Justice party, of which his twin brother, Jaroslaw is head of.

Source: PAP