https://doi.org/10.21697/zp.2024.24.1.11
The crisis which affected European countries in the wake of the war in Ukraine made it necessary for Poland to modify its fiscal policy and introduce measures to combat the crisis. The effects of the changes are manifest in the country’s policy on social welfare. The Polish government’s anti-inflation policy (the “energy shield”) introduced a number of measures to protect its citizens against rising prices for the supply of energy. Households could benefit from coal and other allowances for heating and the supply of electricity. Local authorities, specifically those at the third-tier (gmina) level, were charged with implementing the practical duties these welfare measures involved. The authorities appointed to handle matters concerning the heating and protective allowances were, in the first instance, the wójt (chief administrative officer) of a rural gmina or mayor of a municipality; and the local boards of appeal in the second instance. From the very outset, the practical application of the legal provisions regulating these welfare measures has been fraught with difficulties. Curiously enough, one of the loopholes makes consumers who use the power supply for their own household needs but are not parties to a contract with a company distributing electricity eligible for an allowance; another is the admissibility of grants of separate heating allowances to several households living in separate accommodation at the same address.
Download files
Citation rules
Cited by / Share
English
Italiano
Język Polski