Local content as a pillar of Poland's economic security
The "Local Content. For the Benefit of Poland" project is part of the government's economic philosophy and a priority of the Ministry of State Assets. Its main goal is to Polonize supply chains, particularly in investments made by state-owned companies.
The launch of the "Local Content. For the Benefit of Poland" project took place on April 9 in Ostaszewo near Toruń, attended by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the leadership of the Ministry of State Assets, led by Wojciech Balczun, and the CEOs of the largest companies with State Treasury shareholding. Poczta Polska was represented by its acting CEO, Sławomir Żurawski.
The aim of the proposed solutions is to systemically increase the participation of Polish companies in the ongoing modernization of the Polish army, energy sector, infrastructure and digitalization of the country, which is to strengthen Poland's strategic autonomy and economic security.
" For 20 years, Poland has benefited from free trade in Europe and globally, and we have no intention of undermining this. Local content is an expression of concern, responsibility, and commitment to the security of Poles in a difficult and ever-worsening geopolitical situation. We must rapidly increase our strategic autonomy and develop our own competencies. We have joined European economic leaders and are creating a smart purchasing policy that complies with European regulations and can serve as a model for the entire EU, " said Minister Balczun.
The systematic approach to local content is based on four pillars:
- Building the market position of domestic companies – including them in the supply chains of large investments and strengthening strategic business and production competencies.
- Strengthening security of supply in times of tense geopolitical situations – especially in strategic sectors such as energy and defense.
- The state's long-standing purchasing policy – public procurement supports the development of the economy.
- Support from a team of experts from key financial institutions – developing products to support companies in their investments.
Acting President of Poczta Polska, Sławomir Żurawski, emphasized that from the company's perspective, implementing the local content principle will be a challenge, but not an excessive one:
" Our company covers the entire country and is present in virtually every municipality. We've always used Polish subcontractors, and we mostly purchase Polish goods and services. We buy fuel from Orlen, and Polish subcontractors provide transportation. The same applies to parcel delivery – our couriers are mostly recruited from Polish companies . The company also purchases most of its post office equipment from Polish companies. So I don't see any significant challenges, although there are areas like IT procurement and digitalization where the market is dominated by global corporations ."