The reform of regulated professions called "deregulation" has been ongoing in Poland for nearly three years. Among 374 types of such professions, access to 147 has been facilitated and another 101 will be opened early next year. The changes will affect nearly 800 thousand people. The benefits of the reform and the related challenges were discussed at the Fourth National Single Market Forum organized by the Ministry of Economy and the General Directorate of the European Commission responsible for the Internal Market and Services.

The second day of the conference was devoted to the presentation of the situation of regulated professions in Poland and selected countries as well as consultations on the legitimacy, scale and methods of the reform. The essence of the process is to leave access restrictions to specific professions only when justified by important social good. However, changes along these lines affect the interests of many professional groups and arouse protests. Opponents argue that deregulation lowers the quality of services and undermines confidence in the people performing them. Proponents of regulation argue that the current situation is full of pathologies and unnecessary blockages, which make it difficult to entry the labor market - in particular for young people. The Forum took place on October 16-17 in Warsaw; on the first day, the discussion was moderated by Paweł Rabiej, managing partner at THINKTANK. On the second day, the debate was led by dr Małgorzata Bonikowska, president at CIR and managing partner at THINKTANK.

For more information about the Forum please visit:  http://ec.europa.eu/polska/news/141021_simfo_podsum_pl.htm

Photos: Ewa Synowiec