Poland ’ s maritime policy – the past , a new approach

The article aims at analyzing the prior stages of Poland’s maritime economy development and maritime policy operated towards it. There is also presented the role of the public factor with regard to Poland’s maritime policy, including independent, local governments which were established after the economic transformation of Poland had begun. The last part of the article concerns a new, integrated approach to maritime policy advocated by the EU. An integrated approach towards various areas of maritime policy employed in Poland is presented in the document Polityka Morska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej do roku 2020 (z perspektywą do 2030 roku) [The Republic of Poland’s maritime policy until 2020 (with an outlook to the year 2030)], approved by the Council of Ministers on 17 March 2015. As regards its nature, the future maritime policy employed by Poland will be much more similar to a regional policy than to typical sectorial policies. Entities different to state administration, including regional and local governments, will be, to a greater extent than previously, involved in its employment.


Introduction
What should be regarded as maritime policy is these fields and kinds of human business activity which are explicitly or fundamentally related to the sea with its resources and properties exploited (Gronowski, 1998).
The concept of maritime economy is related to the concept of maritime policy which is regarded as actions of the public factors aiming at full utilization of the opportunities provided by the maritime location of a country (Luks, 2009).
The new approach to maritime policy, which is being advocated in the 21st century by the EU, forces particular member countries to revise their approach to operations in relation to the use of the sea.In practice, autonomous, sectorial policies are to be abandoned and the approach should shift towards being consolidated both objectively (by drawing attention to interrelationships existing among various components of maritime economy) and horizontally (involvement in maritime policy employment by entities different to state administration, including regional and local governments).
The research period included in the part with a historical analysis covers the 20th century and the current years of the 21st century.Except for the critical analysis of the literature on maritime policy, in the part of the article related to the role of local governments carrying out Poland's maritime policy, the author used his own research studies.
The article does not fully exhaust the taken subject.It also was not the intention of the author to present the influence of maritime policy on the development of individual activities in the field of maritime economy of Poland.

A historical analysis of the development of Polish maritime economy as well as maritime policy operated towards it
It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that it was possible to talk about Polish maritime economy and policy, although Poland had been situated by the Baltic sea for centuries.The period from then to now can be divided into five stages: -first quarter of the 20th century -emergence of an idea of Maritime Poland, -second quarter of the 20th century -construction of the sea gateway to the world, -third quarter of the 20th century -completion of the Maritime Poland project, -fourth quarter of the 20th century -recession, new opportunities for the development of Polish maritime economy after 1989; abandonment of protectionism in the maritime policy, -the 21st century -maritime policy of Poland as an EU member.The first period was connected with the emergence of a new awareness among the Poles that direct access to the Baltic Sea was necessary and when Poland regained independence in 1918 this access was granted on a narrow stretch of coast and the sea border was established.The first period of Maritime Poland also deserves a mention of initiatives with regard to the development of the programme of the Polish operations at sea.After Poland regained independence, a social movement, in which sea adherents were involved, emerged and operated under three names: The Polish Flag and League of Polish Navigation which eventually was renamed the Maritime and River League (Piskozub, 1986, pp. 9-62).
Before WWII broke out, the second period had been primarily marked by construction of the port of Gdynia (Polish gateway to the world), because Gdańsk became a free city, which made it impossible for Poland to operate an autonomous policy for this port.After WWII ended the most important task of the government with regard to its maritime policy was to put into operation all the seaports situated on a much longer Polish sea coast.Therefore, in the analyzed period the development of maritime economy and policy which was operated towards it was of unilateral nature and narrowed down to the issues of seaport operations.In general, the maritime policy of the Second Polish Republic was continued and adjusted to the new conditions and needs of the state (Piskozub, 1986, pp. 63-149).
A. Hutnikiewicz writes (1995) that the beginning of the third period reoriented the Polish maritime policy, which resulted in breaking up with the maritime concept of the Second Polish Republic which was still in place in the early years after WWII.Instead, a centralized and departmentally disintegrated system of maritime economy management was introduced.The Economic Union of Coastal Towns was dissolved and the Baltic Institute and Maritime League were incorporated into the League of Soldier's Friends.It was after 1957 that the maritime issues received special recognition.At the subjective level a distinct development of the field defined as maritime economy took place in that period.Apart from the development of port (seaports) economy, which was already in progress, maritime navigation and sea fishing, including deep-sea fishing, underwent rapid development.The one big drawback of this period of time was economic voluntarism (Piskozub, 1986, p. 7).
The fourth period is the last years of economic advancement and record-breaking economic results in the maritime economy as well as time of recession in the global economy.The fall of demand has its adverse influence on the operational and economic results of the maritime enterprises.The optimistic predictions, which were made at the time of prosperous economy, for the development of particular Polish maritime enterprises were drastically modified.In 1984 the Parliament of the Polish People's Republic (Sejm) passed the resolution on the subject of state maritime policy.The role of the Maritime Economy Office, which was established three years earlier, was to coordinate the state maritime policy.The last decade of this period was also the time when Poland transformed from its centrally planned economy into market economy.Abandoning the state protectionist policy and introducing economic liberalism with its free market competition had a significant influence on the situation of particular Polish maritime enterprises.The new circumstances were especially painful for the Polish deep-sea fishing enterprises, including "Dalmor" in Gdynia, "Odra" in Świnoujście and "Gryf" in Szczecin, which -from the beginning of the 80's of the 20th century -had to look for new possibilities of fishing in the fisheries situated in the very remote areas of the south Atlantic and Pacific.1An attempt of the Polish Ocean Lines in Gdynia -the biggest Polish line shipowner -to operate in the new circumstances was also unsuccessful.In the 90's of the 20th century the rest of the sea shipowners, seaports and shipyard enterprises began difficult processes of functional, organizational and ownership transformation (see Hutnikiewicz, 1995).
The last of the analyzed stages of the development of Polish maritime economy and maritime policy includes the last years before Poland joined the EU structures and the first decade of its membership in the EU.This membership resulted in Poland fully participating in accomplishment of the EU policies, including its regional policies, within the framework of which the financial resources were, on an unprecedented scale, provided for the infrastructural investments in the Polish seaports and their sea and land access facilities.2Under the EU programme called Marco Polo the seaports and maritime navigation, which operate within the sea-land transport chains, were also given an opportunity to have financial support as an alternative to road transport.The seaports, which are the first/last sea transport components for moving strategic bulk cargo (an alternative to less flexible land deliveries), also became an important part of the EU energy policy, which is manifested by construction of the first Baltic LNG terminal in Świnoujście.However, the tough regulations of the EU competition policy resulted in the fall of two out of three biggest Polish construction shipyards -in Gdynia and Szczecin.After ownership transformation attempts failed (shortage of foreign investors) the EU Commission recognized public help as misplaced. 3.Luks, who summed up the last four stages (out of the five ones mentioned above) of the implementation of Polish maritime policy, stated that during that time six strategic decisions were made, including four which produced disastrous results and two which delivered highly positive results (Luks, 2011).According to the author the negative decisions included: -ending of the local self-governments in Poland in 1950, -establishment and development of deep-sea fishing (by Poland as a country situated along the inner sea), which was a manifestation of the then communist block imperialism, -excessive development of line navigation whose system of fixed connections did not match the actual Polish economy needs, -development of the shipyard industry in excess of the country's needs; long production runs of the vessels constructed for the USSR did not force the Polish shipyards to go through proper transformations which could have prepared them for operating in the market economy.The most important positive decisions in the field of Poland's maritime policy mentioned by the same author include: -construction of the North Port of Gdańsk whose establishment enabled Poland to be energetically safe and directionally diversified with regard to crude oil deliveries (an alternative to the Soviet oil), -construction of the LNG terminal in the outer port of Świnoujście.After completion of its construction Poland will have an analogous opportunity to have diversified natural gas deliveries.

The role of the public factor, including local governments, in Poland's maritime policy
In Poland the differences in views in relation to the need and extent of the public factor involvement in following the maritime policy have been continued since their beginning.An analysis of the views on maritime policy makes it possible to identify the most important questions in relation to this form of public factor activity: 1. Should, for the most part, coordination, cooperation and other forms of collaboration among maritime economy entities be subject to the public factor influence of the government?If so, should they be planned and followed by means of the state policy.If yes, to what extent? 2. Is this coordination required, if the government also operates a consistent economic policy in relation to these sectors and fields of national economy which are related to the sea and its resources, without emphasizing in any particular way their unique significance?It is very often that the very views on whether and how maritime policy should be operated differ from each other drastically.Two main trends can be identified on their basis.Within the framework of these trends the authors assume that: -participation of the government in the state maritime policy is absolutely essential, even in the circumstances of market economy; there is a need for carrying out a conscious, state maritime policy (advocated by F. Gronowski, Z. Sójka and others), -maritime policy is not required if there is a proper economic policy, unless it is linked to transport policy, with transport itself divided into branches including sea transport or emphasized with regard to its role in relation to intersectoral transport (advocated by A. Piskozub, W. Grzywacz and others).
Because Poland's economic transformation is marked with the establishment of autonomous and independent local self-governments, a question about their role and position in the maritime policy of Poland has arisen.As D. Waldziński noticed, in the Polish institutional circumstances the local self-governments can be co-responsible for the state maritime policy only under the condition of being capable of creating their regional development policy on the basis of their own, unique development potential.The same author carried out his research on the basis of several Polish port municipalities, which have their regional seaports situated on their land, and presented three methods of shaping relationships between local development policies and Poland's maritime policy (Waldziński, 1999, p. 192): -method of indirect involvement, -method of tactical involvement, -method of direct involvement.These methods are in relation to the decisions made by the analyzed self-governments with regard to municipalization of the seaports situated on their land, and consequently to the involvement of the self-governments in the process of management or co-management of these ports. 4he first one pertains to the circumstances when the local self-governments of the seaport municipalities are not interested in municipalization of the seaports situated on their land, but, in accordance with their competences, they do not reject a possibility of influencing their operation and development.
The method of tactical involvement is applied in these circumstances when the local self-governments of the seaport municipalities are interested in municipalization of the seaports situated on their land, and consequently in their management or co-management.However, for various reasons they are incapable of doing so in the nearest future.By performing some indirect preparatory actions they have their impact on their operations and development.
The last of the mentioned methods can be applied in these circumstances when the local self-governments of the seaport municipalities have made their decisions to municipalize the seaports situated on their land.Therefore, they are performing preparatory actions or they have already started to manage/co-manage, and as a result they are also influencing them in an indirect fashion (Waldziński, 1999).
As D. Waldziński's research results show, when the economic transformation in Poland began the self-governments of the port municipalities were given a possibility of exerting a multidimensional impact on the development of this component of maritime economy, i.e. seaports, which is, in particular, territorially related to them.Because of this impact the seaports can maximize their positive influence on their immediate vicinity (port municipalities).Apart from this possibility of municipalization of the port land and participation/co-participation of the self-governments in their management the mutual "municipality-port" influence can be considered from the following angles (Pluciński, 2013, p. 72): 1. Static -determined by the current laws which include spatial planning, tax flows, location decisions or resulting from the very operations of the port which include employment, remunerations and infrastructure development (positive) as well as pollution and noise which are side effects of the port operations (negative).2. Dynamic -related to manifestations of activity and application of the competences.They are in direct relation to the mutual promotion of both the municipality and the port, their mutual undertakings (including environment protection or development of the area development plans with regard to the port land and the land in its immediate vicinity), coordination of the decisions made in the municipal and port strategies (including infrastructural investments).Indirectly, they relate to the self-governments establishing structures which are responsible for the port issues, participation of the municipality in the municipal unions and agreements on the sea issues, initiatives of the municipalities connected with arrangement of cultural and holiday events which enhance a positive image of the port for the inhabitants of seaport towns.The areas of economic and social relationships that exist between port towns and their ports include functional, organizational, spatial, social and financial relationships.
As previously noticed, the biggest opportunities for the local self-governments to be involved in Poland's maritime policy exist for the self-governments which have local seaports on their land.In Poland there are 29 ports operating on this basis.Aside from the seaports on the Polish coast and bays there are 33 fishing harbors.The primary question that should be answered is: do the local self-governments own these port lands, and most importantly, have they been involved in management of these ports?An analysis of the circumstances from the beginning of the 20th century should point out that the land areas of particular ports belonged to the port municipalities, State Treasury or private persons.The most common was a combination of state and municipal ownership.With regard to this issue the following can be singled out (Kotowska, Mańkowska, Pluciński, 2012): -ports with fully municipalized land (Stepnica, Przytór, Mrzeżyno, Sierosław, Wapnica, Karsibór, Puck and Hel), -ports with partially municipalized land (including Wolin, Kamień Pomorski, Dziwnów, Trzebież, Nowe Warpno, Lubin, Wapnica, Police, Kołobrzeg, Darłowo, Ustka, Elbląg, Jastarnia, Kąty Rybackie, Krynica Morska, Frombork and Tolkmicko), -ports of Lubin, Dźwirzyno, Rowy, Łeba, Pasłęka and Władysławowo whose land belong only to the State Treasury, -ports, which include Jastarnia, Krynica Morska, Tolkmicko, Lubin, Police, Darłowo and Elbląg, whose land was both under various forms of ownership as well as owned by private persons.In the case of ports which have their land fully municipalized for some of them separate managing entities were appointed and some had their ports managed within the framework of their municipality.The municipal seaport managements were also established in some of the ports with a combined form of ownership (see Dziwnów or Kołobrzeg).
Most of the operating fishing harbors situated on the Polish coast are still under the State Treasury management.Similarly, as in the case of the analyzed ports, some of the harbors have their land partially or fully municipalized.
3. New Poland's maritime policy as a member of the EU Since September 1989, when Poland signed the first agreement (after it started its economic transformation) on commercial and economic cooperation with the then European Communities, it has been undergoing a process of getting closer to the structures of the biggest European integration body.A clear manifestation of this direction was the association agreement signed with the EU in December 1991.The process of adapting Polish economy to the EU requirements became very advanced in 1998 when detailed bilateral Poland-EU negotiations started.After they were completed in December 2002, the Treaty of Accession was signed in 2003, which resulted in Poland and 9 other countries joining the EU on 1 May 2004.
One of the primary requirements imposed on each state seeking the EU membership is acceptance of the EU law over the national law.When Poland joined the EU, it was not only a free trade area or customs union, as is the case of majority of integration bodies in the world.The most important liberties related to the uniform EU market as well as the economic policies connected with the stage of economic union (including the common policy of competition and transport or the beginnings of maritime policy) had to have their influence on the further development of Polish maritime economy and the policy operated in relation to maritime activities.
The maritime policy, regarded as a section of the EU policy, should be considered as one of the newest union policies.It appreciates the role of the seas and oceans in the European economy.The gross added value of the European "blue economy" is estimated at approximately 500 billion EUR with an expected increase to approximately 600 billion EUR in 2020.By this year the number of people employed in the "blue economy" should have increased from the current 5.4 million to 7 million.Additionally, what should be taken into account is that 75% of the EU foreign trade and 37% of its internal trade is conducted by sea.
In 2006 the EU Commission approved a working paper, the so called Green Paper, which is dedicated to the issues of oceans and seas.The following needs are recognized in the document (The Green Paper, 2006): -to apply an innovative, versatile approach to the solution of these issues, -to consolidate sectoral policies in relation to the development of the sea resources, -to achieve a stable balance between the needs of economic and social development as well as maintain qualities of the environment.The next stage was wide public consultation which in 2007 completed the approval of the Blue Paper under the title "An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union" (The Blue Paper, 2007).The main conclusion -all the issues in relation to the oceans and seas of Europe are interrelated and the policies with regard to particular seas and their resources should be operated in a coordinated fashion.This paper identifies five fundamental areas of intervention of the Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union, i.e.: -the use of ocean and sea resources, -knowledge and innovations in the maritime policy, -quality of life in the coastal regions, -international cooperation, -Maritime Image of Europe.
In 2012, the EU Commission published a Communication in which it defined an idea of "blue growth" -a new initiative designed to facilitate a smart, sustainable and integrated economic growth as well as increase in employment (COM, 2012).The following areas of the anticipated development of the Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union were indicated: -renewable energy provided by the oceans and seas, -aquaculture, -blue biotechnology, -coastal tourism, -seabed mining.
In the 2012 Limassol Declaration (a new maritime and maritime agenda for growth and jobs) Maria Damanaki, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, emphasized that "to make a reality of the growth trends and opportunities in the maritime economy, we need the input of all -institutions, Member States and regions, industry, SMEs and civil society."She also stressed that "being able to work together to get the best results is a sign of maturity; and maritime policy is the ideal vehicle to boost the Blue Economy in Europe" (COM, 2012).Therefore, what it boils down to is synergy in the maritime policy operated by various groups of this policy stakeholders.
The conception of the so called "blue belt" is also connected with the new approach to the EU maritime policy.Its purpose is to increase competitiveness of the sea transport sector by enabling ships to provide steady services for connections on the EU internal market with minimal limitations as well as simplified administrative procedures (COM, 2013).
The integrated EU maritime policy is becoming one of the instruments which accomplish the supreme EU development objectives included in the Europe 2020 strategy (COM, 2010).This policy is based on the collection of objectives and operational principles as well as cross-sectional instruments.It goes together with the action plan which contains detailed operational tasks included in the timetable.
The new approach to maritime policy should be reflected in the most important documents containing priorities of the development of maritime economy in particular member countries of the EU.In the case of Poland the process of completing such a document was finished on 17 March 2015 when the Council of Ministers approved the document Polityka morska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej do roku 2020 (z perspektywą do 2030 roku) [The Republic of Poland's maritime policy until 2020 (with an outlook to the year 2030)].On the international level, the project of the Polish maritime policy was designed by the Interministerial Team for the Republic of Poland's Maritime Policy.The mission of the Republic of Poland's maritime policy is maximization of substantial benefits to the citizens as well as the national economy which result from the sustainable use of the country's maritime location as well as sea and ocean resources.The strategic objective of the national maritime policy is to increase the maritime economy sector share in GDP as well as employment in the maritime economy.The priorities of the Republic of Poland's maritime policy until 2020 (with an outlook to the year 2030) include strengthening the position of the Polish seaports, increasing competitiveness of its sea transport, providing maritime safety, providing conditions for the development of maritime economy based on knowledge and qualifications, the rational use of maritime environment natural resources, sustainable sea fishing management, strengthening the national energy security as well as improving maritime management.Poland's maritime policy is supposed to integrate maritime sectors and other sectors which are related to it.Monitoring of the fulfillment of established priorities is provided by the annual report on the fulfillment of the national maritime policy prepared by the Interministerial Team for the Republic of Poland's Maritime Policy (Polityka…, 2015;Pyć, 2016).Therefore, a significant step towards the integrated Polish maritime policy has already been made.The next evolutionary stage of Poland's maritime policy will be decentralization or diversification of its employment.
The Integrated Maritime Policy for the EU can be recognized as the first EU policy of a new kind.Its distinctive feature is its numerous stages of implementation as well as its cross-sectional nature, which is especially evident in its instruments (Szydarowski, Zaucha, 2011, p. 229): -economic, -informative, -administrative (including planning regulations).
As regards its nature, this policy is much more similar to a regional policy than to typical sectorial policies.In 2008 the EU Commission published a working paper with regard to territorial cohesion (COM, 2008) and indicated the issue of diversity in the development potentials of the EU area.The paper presents the thesis that in the era of globalization and global economic relations competitiveness and prosperity of the EU territories are dependant on ability to use their potentials by the local communities and business entities as well as establish relations beyond the administrative framework.The coastal areas can be treated as special areas where the cohesion policy is operated.In this context, this policy is supposed to eliminate functional conflicts and create conditions for sustainable development of these areas and respect the maritime environment protection requirements and human development needs (Szydarowski, Zaucha, 2011, p. 233).Once again, D. Waldziński's research should be referred to at this point.His emphasis was on the significance of ability to create the regional development policy based on the unique potential of development regarded as a necessary condition for active involvement of the regional self-governments in the accomplishment of maritime policy.
The new Poland's maritime policy should transform from being one of many sectoral policies into a policy for stimulating development which takes into account exploitation of the broadly defined sea resources.At the subjective level it should include economic, innovative, spatial, social and ecological threads.As W. Szyndrowski and J. Zaucha notice, it will be impossible to regard the new maritime policy as a strictly sectoral policy, i.e. in relation to the development of navigation, ports or university education.The new perspective will lay emphasis on fostering innovations and creating a knowledge-based capital (Szydarowski, Zaucha, 2011, pp. 241-242).
In the new maritime policy of Poland the central state administration will be responsible for creating a legal or financial framework for the maritime policy.On the subjective level the very implementation of the maritime policy will be much more complex than it was in the past.Aside from the state administration the local and regional self-governments as well as private entities will be significantly involved in this process.

Conclusion
The actual period of maritime economy of Poland and the policy which has been intentionally operated towards it started at the beginning of the 20th century.A historical analysis of the stages of Polish maritime economy development to date shows that its most long-lasting component was the seaports.When Polish economy was operating on the basis of a centrally planned economy, other important sectors of the maritime economy were also developed, including mainly maritime navigation, shipyard industry and sea fishing.
In the case of the maritime policy, which has its supporters and opponents in Poland, what was dominant for most part of the time was state protectionism which in 1989 was replaced by a liberal approach and free market regulations governing the development of particular maritime sectors.After 1989 the local self-governments started to play an important role in the implementation of the maritime policy of Poland.Currently, Polanda member of the EU -co-creates the Integrated Maritime Policy for the EU.An integrated approach towards various areas of maritime policy employed in Poland is presented in the document Polityka Morska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej do roku 2020 (z perspektywą do 2030 roku), approved by the Council of Ministers on 17 March 2015.
The economic transformation and, first of all, participation of Poland in creating the Integrated Maritime Policy for the EU urges Poland to have a new approach to the complex issues related to the use of the sea (the so called "territorialisation of the maritime policy").At the EU or central administration level of each country a legal, organizational and financial framework will be made.The very implementation of the policy will be decentralized and diversified with an increase in importance of the regional and local self-governments as important implementers of Polish maritime policy.This policy will be similar to the regional policy.The most important instrument of this policy will be modern mechanisms for stimulating development.