There is no threat that Euro 2012 in Poland will not succeed. UEFA is assessing the state of our preparations very highly – Sports and Tourism Minister Mirosław Drzewiecki emphasised during the „Largest construction site in Europe – Euro 2012 investments” panel. – But investors are wrong to think that we shall pay for everything, even if they price their services at 2 or 3 times the level of costs in other countries. Drzewiecki thus made it clear, that either Polish companies constrain their appetites for massive profits or they are risking losing out against competing firms from other countries, for example China. In his view, Chinese experiences gained from organising the Olympics may prove useful for our European Football Championships investments. – I am seriously interested in the participation of Chinese companies in various investment projects – he explained – They have an absolute capacity to build everything at the highest level.
Drzewiecki, along with Marcin Herra and Andrzej Bogucki, heads of PL. 2012, the company responsible for preparations to the Championships, have no doubts: preparations are coming along well and so far without problems. – We are cooperating with six cities, we are meeting every month, checking what each of us has done, setting targets for the following weeks – Andrzej Bogucki asserted. He also announced that from October the company’s website will include an action plan which everyone will be able to observe.
There are considerably more fears surrounding the state of preparations for the event in Ukraine. This issue was discussed during the panel on „Infrastructure needs of large cities and regions in the context of Euro 2012”. Rostyslav Karandieyev, Ukraine’s deputy minister for Family, Youth and Sports, admitted: – We are short on professionals, good legislation and social approval. We have no experience of these types of investments. But it is a good thing, that we are able to recognise our problems, now we can get around to overcoming them.
Ukraine was also not able to encourage private investors to support the undertaking financially to an extent previously expected by authorities, which is why the government opted for centralist management over infrastructure project. A consequence of the need for larger involvement of public funds is the lack of social support for the Championships. – We are choosing the path of government financing, we will also seek to obtain international loans – he added. The government is also planning to reform the tax-sharing scheme so that part of the taxes remain with local governments.
