Prime Minister Donald Tusk met his British counterpart in 10 Downing Street, Monday, for talks on the global finance crisis and Polish returnees from the UK.
It is estimated that around 700,000 Poles are in the UK, with 600,000 officially registered. The Polish government has designed incentives to help Poles return back to their country, including tax amnesty for those who worked legally in the EU since 2004.
But as the UK faces a deep recession in 2009, and unemployment is growing, up to 300,000 Poles are expected to return next year.
PM Tusk said that his talks with PM Brown included discussion of collective responces to the finance crisis and the problems in UK economy in particular which will affect Poles working there.
But Tusk denied that He was trying to drag Polish workers back home. “I would like to put an end to this speculation. I did not come to London to persuade anyone to either return to Poland or stay here.”
Warsaw is preparing information for Poles interested in returning, however. A government web site - powroty.gov.pl - will be updated regularly and people can get in touch with experts in a wide range of specialisms.
After his meeting with Gordon Brown the Polish PM met with representatives of Poles in the UK.
Donald Tusk did not mention to journalists whether he brought up the issue of the EU Climate Package which he is trying to get the UK onside in his campaign to get carbon emission targets lowered for Poland and other emerging economies in the 27 nation bloc. Brussels wants cuts across the board of up to 20 percent compared to 1990 levels – a figure too high to meet for a country like Poland, says Tusk, as 90 percent of the nation’s electricity comes from burning coal.