The European Business Club Poland as an organization of entrepreneurs, which is part of the Council of Entrepreneurs at the Ombudsman for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, fully supports the Ombudsman’s efforts to address the Prime Minister with an appeal to lift restrictions, concerning companies’ activities in coronavirus pandemic, by 1 July 2020.
Our Association understood the Government’s actions aimed at fighting coronavirus with understanding, including those that led to the limitation or closure of some companies. However, the restrictions that are long-term has a negative impact on the economy, and in particular on the activity of small and medium-sized family businesses. In order to avoid irreversible economic consequences, we believe that this is the time to move to the stage of “defrosting the economy” and starting the process of its recovery. Entrepreneurs must know the maximum period during which they will have to finance downtime. Aid funds from the so-called anti-crisis shield, allow only for partial financing of companies, that have already been forced to cease operations or to reduce it. In the absence of specific information on how long they will have to add to their companies, entrepreneurs are not able to estimate whether they will be able to afford it, therefore, despite efforts to maintain job positions, they are forced to terminate contracts with employees, which may soon result in surge in unemployment.
The frozen activity of companies, in whole or in part, and, consequently, their inability to pay taxes, while providing funds to support them from the budget, may lead to the collapse of public finances, massive unemployment as well as – to wrecking of our economic growth that has already been made with a difficulty. Therefore, it is necessary for the Government to start a quick return to economic normality, while taking into account the use of all available methods to ensure the safety of employees and clients, and to complete this process no later than 1 July 2020.