It starts on April 17 and will be three times a week until May 4 when the frequency increases to four days. The service will run on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Sam Warnock, head of regional communications at Heart of England Tourism, added: "There is a growing Polish population in the region, and this new link will ensure that visiting friends and relatives can access the Heart of England directly.

"This can only be good news for increased Polish visitors to the region."

It is Norwegian’s first route from Poland to England and chief executive Bjorn Kjos said: "We are confident this new route from Warsaw to England’s second city will be popular with both business and leisure passengers.

"We look forward to working with Birmingham Airport to make this a success."

Peter Vella, business development director at Birmingham Airport, said: "We are pleased to welcome Norwegian, our eighth low cost airline, to Birmingham International and provide a direct route to the capital of Poland – the biggest country in Central Europe.

"Leisure travellers will be able to enjoy city breaks in this historic destination while business customers can open new doors to trade and investment opportunities."

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The Commission is threatening to take the matter to the European Court of Justice, which means Poland could face a hefty fine or even lose further EU funding if it does not drop the project. It has been the cause of ongoing protests by environmentalists backed by Greenpeace who have set up camp in the Rospuda Valley to prevent construction from going ahead. However, the project also has its supporters, including the residents of Augustow on the border with Lithuania. They believe the highway would alleviate traffic through their town, which they say kills some 20 people every year.

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MosNews has reported last year that Russia’s oil pipeline monopoly Transneft shut down the Druzhba link to Mazeikiu Nafta —- the only refinery in the Baltic states —- following a reported leak last July, and has not restored it yet.

Analysts have said Moscow may be using the pipeline shutdown to reduce Mazeikiu’s value and thus encourage Poland’s PKN Orlen, which earlier beat Russian rivals to take over the plant, to abandon its acquisition.

“We would like the issue [of crude supply] to be discussed at the spring European Council” meeting of EU leaders, Lithuania’s Deputy Foreign Minister Zygimantas Pavilionis was quoted by Reuters as telling reporters.

The EU summit is scheduled for March 8 to 9.

“We think that the EU should influence the process. We have asked the [EU] presidency, but nothing has happened,” he added.

Pavilionis said unless the EU put pressure on Russia to reopen the Druzhba link, “There is an idea to block the mandate for talks with Russia.”

“We can become another Poland,” he said, referring to the Polish decision late last year to veto the launch of EU-Russia talks on a wide-ranging cooperation agreement.

Poland blocked the talks because Russia refused to lift its ban on Polish meat imports.

“The leak can be fixed in several weeks, but eight months have passed already and nothing has happened. It is a political act,” Pavilionis said.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said earlier last week it still expected Russia to provide a schedule for the pipeline repairs.

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Based on published sources, Frost & Sullivan (http://www.medicaldevices.frost.com) estimates that the size of the Medical Device Market in Poland was US$1,290.0 million in 2005.

Accession into the EU has proven to be highly beneficial in financial terms, with fund transfers from the EU poised to generate additional capital flows into Poland. In 2004, foreign direct investments into the country stood at nearly US$7.9 billion, marking an increase of almost 23 per cent from 2003. This also represented the highest increase of FDI into Poland over the last four years.

“The inflow of funds from the EU as well as the Polish government has increased financial resources in certain targeted areas of the healthcare sector,” notes Frost & Sullivan Team Leader Kavitha Ravikumar. “Such positive trends are being reinforced by government initiatives to modernise and rationalise healthcare provision, thereby further driving market expansion.”

However, pricing competition poses a key challenge. Competition on the price platform will allow low-cost medical and healthcare device manufacturers from Poland and Asia to gain an edge over outside competition.

A slew of positive developments bode well for the future. The healthcare system and the government are responding to the current need for greater regulation even as control over bodies granting the CE mark within Poland is anticipated shortly. Imports are set to increase and the private healthcare sector will continue to expand rapidly.

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The research will focus on the topic of Channel dynamics and profitability in Eastern Europe. This first of its kind research will highlight data in four countries: Russia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Monty Cornell, Director of Research for CMP’s Channel Group will present the research at XChange Eastern Europe.

“The XChange conference is a perfect way for us to reach global partners. In this type of forum we are able to outline the benefits of our partner programs and learn what partners need to grow their businesses,” said Nancy Fuller, Director, Global Channel Marketing, Sun Microsystems. “This research will also continue to help us position ourselves as a thought leader in the region.”

XChange Eastern Europe will take place February 5-7 at the Hotel Intercontinental in Budapest, Hungary. The three day event brings together qualified and profiled decision making Solution Providers, resellers and integrators from across Central and Eastern Europe along with top industry vendors in diverse technology areas to build business relationships. XChange Eastern Europe will bring together vendors, distributors and resellers from Central and Eastern Europe including Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia/Montenegro, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine.

“The event offers an interactive environment for vendors and technology integrators as well as IT consultants to meet in a non-competitive setting and learn about new technologies, market trends and how to build and manage partnerships better. We are strongly committed to helping foster new relationships and growth opportunities for the global channel community,” said Nancy Hammervik, vice president, XChange Events, CMP Technology’s Channel Group.

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