Poland Names Jasinski Treasury Minister

Poland Names Jasinski Treasury Minister

Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz on Wednesday named a new treasury minister who is expected to harden Warsaw's position in a battle with the European Union over a bank merger.

Wojciech Jasinski, 57, fills a post which has been vacant since his predecessor quit six weeks ago. He is a member of the governing Law and Justice party.

President Lech Kaczynski formally appointed Jasinski in a ceremony later Wednesday.

Jasinski is expected to toughen Poland's attempt to block plans by Italian bank Unicredito SpA to acquire the nation's third-largest bank, BPH, as part of its takeover of Germany's HVB Group, which owns BPH.

Poland filed an appeal this month against the European Commission's approval of the takeover, arguing that it would violate a 1999 privatization agreement the Italian bank signed when it bought a stake in Polish bank Pekao.

Jasinski is not expected to speed up or broaden privatization. He has said publicly that Poland should keep a tight control on strategic sectors such as oil, gas and electricity.

He has long been a close associate of Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his twin brother, the president.

The previous treasury minister, Andrzej Mikosz, stepped down Jan. 3 amid suspicions of wrongdoing.

He was the first minister to leave Marcinkiewicz's new government, which took office in late October promising to fight corruption.