President Bronislaw Komorowski has asked for 500 days for the ruling Civic Platform to pass reforms through parliament.

A new governmental-parliamentary committee has drafted a list of the most important bills that need to be passed through parliament.

The committee comprises a group of Civic Platform politicians, including minister without portfolio Michal Boni, health minister Ewa Kopacz, and justice minister Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, among others.

The working committee has drawn up a plan for the next 500 days which primarily includes 34 different bill proposals.

One of the first points that the group wants to tackle is the increase in student concessions for train fares, one of Bronislaw Komorowski’s election promises during the presidential campaign earlier this year.

Health and social insurance reforms are to follow, which furthermore abandon plans to transform hospitals into commercial entities.

In a bid to rescue public finances, apart from the proposed 1 percent VAT hike, the bills envisage a lower funeral allowance, as well as a drop in pensions for public service retirees.

A set of “deregulation” bills hopes to see the personal tax identification number  (NIP) replaced by the existing personal identity number (PESEL), as well as the possibility of online company registration.

A number of bills drafted by the Civic Platform also encompass flood protection measures, a move that follows three waves of floods that caused destruction in 14 out of Poland’s 16 regions.

One bill proposal, which has been passed onto the Constitutional Tribunal, outlines the possibility of an external audit of the Supreme Auditing Chamber (NIK). (jb)

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza

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