Donbass may exit Gdansk by August 1

Warsaw: Industrial Union of Donbass will end its investment in Poland's Gdansk Shipyard if it fails to reach an accord with the European Commission over state aid by August 1.

Poland's three biggest shipyards, based on he Baltic coast, are in danger of bankruptcy if they are forced to repay the aid, Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad said on Sunday.

The Commission may order Poland to take back as much as 1.3 billion euros ($2.06 billion) in past subsidies to shipyards in Gdansk and Szczecin.

"If the situation is unchanged by the end of July, we won't deceive the European Commission, Treasury Ministry and 10,000 people working for the shipyard any more as this investment will make no sense at all," said Konstantin Litvinov, head of the Ukrainian group's operations in Poland.

He called the Commission's requirements "simply impossible" and said there was "no chance whatsoever on our side'' to fulfill them because the law "doesn't allow for it."