WARSAW, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Poland's historic but debt-laden shipyards may become a prosperous business hub producing things other than ships under radical new restructuring plans, EU competition chief Neelie Kroes was quoted on Friday as saying.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centre-right government has been fighting to stave off bankruptcy for the shipyards, cradle of the anti-communist Solidarity trade union in the 1980s, but Kroes has rejected its own restructuring proposals.
The Commission wants the state-controlled yards of Gdynia and Szczecin and the privatised Gdansk yard to repay 2.3 billion euros in illegal state aid, a move that would bankrupt them.
EU Competition Commissioner Kroes said her plan would involve selling off the two state-owned yards' assets and using the proceeds to pay back the state aid.
'This would provide a fresh start for the shipyards and their employees... New investors would not be burdened with old debts. They could start any economic activity they wanted,' Kroes told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily in an interview.
'They (the new companies) can produce something else. The companies themselves will decide on the issue. The skills of employees of all the shipyards can be used not only for ship building but also in steel construction or similar areas.'
The yards have not made profit on a single ship built since Poland joined the European Union in 2004 and would have collapsed without state subsidies. Some analysts say the yards could still build ships profitably if better managed.
But Kroes said: 'Given the coming recession, it might be a good idea to focus on an industry with better prospects for making profit than shipbuilding.'
She urged the Polish government to back her plan, saying it would otherwise lose any influence over the sale process.
Tusk confirmed in Brussels on Thursday that his government was in talks with the Commission on a radical new restructuring plan but he gave no details.
His pro-EU government could face a strong public backlash if the shipyards, closely linked in Polish minds with the struggle to topple communist rule in the 1980s, went out of business.
In her interview, Kroes urged Warsaw to present a separate restructuring plan for the Gdansk shipyard, which is now in the hands of a Ukrainian investor.
The three yards employ a total of around 15,000 workers but Polish officials say as many as 60,000 jobs could be at risk when suppliers and related sectors are taken into account.
(Writing by Gareth Jones and Patryk Wasilewski; Editing by Charles Dick) Keywords: POLAND SHIPYARDS/ tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomsonreuters.com jlw COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centre-right government has been fighting to stave off bankruptcy for the shipyards, cradle of the anti-communist Solidarity trade union in the 1980s, but Kroes has rejected its own restructuring proposals.
The Commission wants the state-controlled yards of Gdynia and Szczecin and the privatised Gdansk yard to repay 2.3 billion euros in illegal state aid, a move that would bankrupt them.
EU Competition Commissioner Kroes said her plan would involve selling off the two state-owned yards' assets and using the proceeds to pay back the state aid.
'This would provide a fresh start for the shipyards and their employees... New investors would not be burdened with old debts. They could start any economic activity they wanted,' Kroes told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily in an interview.
'They (the new companies) can produce something else. The companies themselves will decide on the issue. The skills of employees of all the shipyards can be used not only for ship building but also in steel construction or similar areas.'
The yards have not made profit on a single ship built since Poland joined the European Union in 2004 and would have collapsed without state subsidies. Some analysts say the yards could still build ships profitably if better managed.
But Kroes said: 'Given the coming recession, it might be a good idea to focus on an industry with better prospects for making profit than shipbuilding.'
She urged the Polish government to back her plan, saying it would otherwise lose any influence over the sale process.
Tusk confirmed in Brussels on Thursday that his government was in talks with the Commission on a radical new restructuring plan but he gave no details.
His pro-EU government could face a strong public backlash if the shipyards, closely linked in Polish minds with the struggle to topple communist rule in the 1980s, went out of business.
In her interview, Kroes urged Warsaw to present a separate restructuring plan for the Gdansk shipyard, which is now in the hands of a Ukrainian investor.
The three yards employ a total of around 15,000 workers but Polish officials say as many as 60,000 jobs could be at risk when suppliers and related sectors are taken into account.
(Writing by Gareth Jones and Patryk Wasilewski; Editing by Charles Dick) Keywords: POLAND SHIPYARDS/ tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomsonreuters.com jlw COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.