The Sejm, the lower chamber of Polish parliament, has just adopted and passed on to the Senate the latest package of legislation touted as the Anti-Crisis Shield intended to counter the effects of the coronavirus epidemic. The numerous legislative proposals advanced by the government in this context include amendments to the legislative Act of 24 July 2015 regarding control of certain investments (“the Act”) which, if adopted, will have the effect of significantly expanding the powers of the Polish state – represented by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (“UOKiK”) – to interdict investments as a result of which control or dominance over a protected entity would pass to an Investor who:
- Is not a citizen of a member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area (for natural persons) or
- Does not have, or did not have for at least 2 years prior to the filing of the proposed investment, a corporate seat within a member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area (for other persons).
Apart from that, the legislation expressly stipulates that subsidiaries, branches, and representative offices of such an Investor shall be regarded as entities which do not have their seats within the European Union.
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