FACTBOX-Poland, Eureko meet to settle PZU dispute

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Poland's treasury ministry meets with Dutch insurer Eureko on Thursday for the first time in more than six months to renew efforts to settle a long-running dispute over the control of central Europe's top insurer PZU.

Following are some of the main facts in the dispute:

* In November 1999, Eureko and Polish bank BIG BG, now Millennium BIGW.WA, signed a controversial deal with Poland's treasury to together buy a 30 percent stake in PZU for 3.1 billion Polish zlotys ($1.3 billion).

Eureko eventually bought Millennium's stake and raised its holding to just under 33 percent, but has not been cleared to pass that barrier. Poland holds 55 percent of PZU.

* In an April 2001 amendment to the original deal, the treasury ministry committed itself to floating PZU shares. In the planned initial public offering Eureko was to buy another 21 percent, gaining a majority stake.

* Since the original agreement, various treasury ministers have disputed the deal and the IPO has not taken place. In late 2002, an arbitration court ruled that the failure to float PZU violated a bilateral agreement between Poland and the Netherlands on protection of investments.

This allowed Eureko to get around a clause in the privatisation deal committing the two sides to adjudicate any disputes in Polish courts.

* International arbitration courts have ruled in Eureko's favour. Eureko has filed a motion for damages, but declined to say how much it was seeking. People familiar with the case say Eureko has demanded some 2 billion euros ($2.9 billion).

It is not known when the arbitration court will decide damages, but the pressure on the new centre-right government is growing as the payment would take a big chunk out of the state budget if awarded.

* In December 2004 the leftist government proposed a settlement in which PZU would be floated and Eureko would take an additional 5 percent, making it the biggest single shareholder. The state's stake would have been reduced to 25 percent.

The deal fell through in parliament just months before conservatives led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski won power in late 2005. But the proposal is now seen as the starting point for any talks.

* The conservative government of Jaroslaw Kaczynski returned last year to earlier proposals to merge PZU with PKO PKOB.WA to create a state-controlled national champion, but the plan was dropped by the new centre-right government.

* PZU, which is fighting to retain a dominant share of the Polish insurance market, forecasts a 2007 net profit of about 5 billion zlotys.

(Reporting by Chris Borowski; Editing by David Holmes)