„We are witnessing a worsening of capital aggression, which in this case is carried out in a spectacular way. For what is taking place is the rolling out of heavy cannons, it is an aggression which, it must be made clear, seeks to destroy the economies of individual EU countries, but this will as well destroy the economic model of the EU as a result. It goes in the direction of the dominance of Germany and France, while the EU’s economy will never become strong if the economies of the other EU countries are weak”

— Prof Zbigniew Krysiak, economist, president of the Schumann Thought Institute (Instytut Myśli Schumanna), said in an interview with wPolityce.pl.

wPolityce.pl: As reported by Law and Justice MEP Zbigniew Kuźmiuk, over the last seven months the EC has approved state aid for 24 countries totalling €435 billion. However, almost 90 per cent of this amount relates to programmes requested by only two countries - Germany and France. What is your opinion of such actions by the EC? How might this situation affect the economy of the EU as a whole?

Prof. Zbigniew Krysiak: This is a further perpetuation of the so-called expansion and the exploitation, but also of the aggression of capital applying in particular to the countries which joined the EU in 2004. Certain measures of aggressive expansion, buying out various valuable companies for virtually nothing, not only in Poland, but also in Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, have been exhausted. The standing of Western business has strengthened a lot, but at the same time our companies have started to be very competitive. Despite the loss at the beginning of the economic transition, we are starting to recover from this crisis.

Meanwhile, the Tricity project raises clear concerns for Western business. Whereas the standard in the EU community in terms of the use of public funds is to maintain some competitive balance. However, in the past there were times when our shipyards were being closed down. We tried to direct public aid to them so that they could recover. However, they were closed under the slogan that this aid could not be given, and then in the same environment, the shipyards in Hamburg and other countries grew in significance.

We are witnessing a worsening of capital aggression, which in this case is carried out in a spectacular way. For what is taking place is the rolling out of heavy cannons, it is an aggression which - it must be made clear - seeks to destroy the economies of individual EU countries, but this will as well destroy the economic model of the EU as a result. It goes in the direction of the dominance of Germany and France, while the EU’s economy will never become strong if the economies of the other EU countries are weak.

What you are saying is that the EC’s approval of multi-billion dollar state aid programmes in Germany and France are leading to the destruction of the EU’s economic model. If so, why is the EC pursuing such a course?

This is not being done by the European Commission, but by Ursula Von der Leyen, who was appointed by the Germans. This is all a pretense; after all, we can see, for example, that the funds from the National Reconstruction Plan are not being blocked by the Commission, but by Ursula. This must be spoken openly. The Germans have created a mechanism by also giving the French the approval for multi-billion state aid. If they had not agreed to it, France would have made some kind of revolt, and so they decided to silence their partner in business. Let’s not delude ourselves that here are some collegiate bodies, sets of experts who make decisions taking into account some logic or the current economic situation. The direction is that Germany wants to maintain its economic hegemony.

They are able to do anything that falls within a certain area of law, although in fact it is only a pretence, since it is already unlawful. The state aid, naturally, is granted from the budget of the respective state, but the German national budget is massive. In addition to this dimension resulting from the so-called EC approval, Germany and France furthermore want to pump even more money into their economies. If their businesses receive a total of EUR 600 billion, then it will destroy the competition in other countries given the current situation, which also involves high inflation, etc. This situation requires taking extensive measures.

Which ones?

If they ignore the rules and therefore do not comply with them, we in the Tricity countries should not bother at all and take decisions on state aid without asking the approval of the EC. We should simply treat it as if the EC, Germany and France behaving in such a way invalidate the state aid agreement. So there is no such thing as asking permission from the EC.

If Poland acted in this way, I suspect that, firstly, the EU would bring further proceedings against Poland for violation of the rule of law, and, in addition, there would be increased accusations within our country of an alleged attempt at Polexit.

They ground their action on creating fear. What does it mean that they can operate by force, by capital violence? It is wrong to think in such categories, no one is leaving the EU; we are just not going to allow some kind of free-for-all to be created. We must use the adequate instruments in accordance with the situation. So far, when Poland applied to the EC with a proposal for something that looked like state aid, we always got very little, and in the case of similar investments in other countries, the consent was always granted.

Tłum. K.J.