Summary:
Italian co-partners in an agricultural company Fausta-Agro based in Krosno will not become the sole owners of some 1,200 hectares of mostly, formerly Lemko land in the vicinity of Dukla and Komańcza, Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court decided, that upheld a previous decision of Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture not to grant permission to sell 54 percent of the land belonging to the Polish co-partner. The Italian co-partner that already owns 46 percent of land wanted to buy the rest of the company’s property, arguing that the Polish co-partner is not financially able to continue the development of the company. Poland’s Agriculture Minister stated that the monopolization of the company is not necessary for its proper development. Although at the present time there are no restrictions regarding the purchase of land by foreigners (it does, however, require approval from the Polish government), the Minister’s decision did not seem to be business-motivated. In present negotiations with the European Union, Poland seeks a 12-year period of restrictions on the purchase of land and forest by foreigners.

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