Narodowy Bank Polski (NBP) restated its view that Governor Adam Glapiński must participate in its Monetary Policy Council (MPC) and Management Board, while Polish law requires his presence for Council resolutions.
NBP issued the notice Friday, renewing positions it had set out in a Polish statement Oct. 12 and an English release Oct. 22. The bank said “confusing information” had prompted the notice but did not identify the claims it was answering.
The law establishes a 10-member MPC, with the Governor as chair and nine other members. At least three members may request a meeting in writing, and another member may preside when the chair is absent. Council rules assign that role to a member the chair designated in advance.
Article 16 requires a majority vote and at least five members present for the Council to adopt resolutions, including the chair. Read together, the provisions appear to allow a substitute to lead a meeting but prevent resolutions from passing without the Governor. NBP reads the stand-in provision narrowly, saying it applies only during short, temporary absences; the Act and Council rules set no time limit for an absence.
The MPC sets NBP interest rates and monetary policy guidelines. In an interview with the Polish Press Agency carried by Puls Biznesu, MPC member Ludwik Kotecki said the bank would not have to stop operating if the Governor were absent, though arranging meetings could become harder if the Governor and deputy governors were unavailable. Kotecki also referred to the period after the 2010 Smolensk crash, when the first deputy governor convened MPC meetings, PAP reported.
Separately, Reuters reported that 11 of the 21 members of a Sejm committee supported advancing a motion to bring Glapiński before the State Tribunal. Reuters said allegations in the case concern NBP asset purchases in 2020 and 2021 as indirect financing of the budget deficit, as well as politicization of the central bank; Glapiński denies the allegations.
Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty said lawmakers planned to vote on the motion in the second half of November, RMF24 and PAP reported.
