
POLISH NEWS BYTES
Compiled by Robert Strybel, Warsaw Correspondent
(Updated 19 December 2024)
Marcin Romanowski/ph:/pl.wikipedia.org
Ex-justice official flees Poland, receives asylum in Hungary Marcin Romanowski, a former Polish deputy Justice minister, has fled the country and received political asylum in Hungary. He had been wanted by the Tusk government for alleged involvement in a corruption scheme under the previous Law & Justice administration. Poland obtained a European Arrest Warrant for Romanowski who had managed to request and receive political asylum in Hungary. Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán said his country would always protect the politically persecuted. This was Poland’s second high-level defection of 2024 since last May when Warsaw judge Tomasz Szmydt fled the country and received asylum and citizenship in Belarus.
Tusk worried about May’s presidential election PM Donald Tusk has expressed concern that the Kremlin may target Poland’s May 2025 presidential election with its hybrid weaponry including database hacking and swamping social media with disinformation. In addition to potential external threats, the results of years of Polish-Polish hostilities has caused legal chaos at home. The Tusk government does not recognize judicial reforms and appointments effected under Law & Justice (L&J) rule and rejects the decisions of the Constitutional Tribunal. But the L&J opposition is quick to point out that the Tusk coalition broke the law during its short-cut takeover of public media. After the Electoral Commission defied the government by postponing its decision on defunding the opposition, its decisions on election results may also run counter to government expectations.
Poland heads rotating Council for the next 6 months The European Council brings together EU leaders to set the EU’s political agenda, and each of the bloc’s 27 members take turns heading it. Poland’s priorities include fully utilizing frozen Russian assets in support of Ukraine, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski explained. Another key goal is to support the EU’s expansion by helping Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkans, as well as backing Georgia’s pro-European aspirations. Warsaw hopes to build a Europe resilient to external threats, in particular by further developing its defensive capabilities.
Coalition marks first anniversary, public opinion unimpressed Donald Tusk’s liberal-centrist Civic Coalition party was outvoted on election day by its arch-rival, the conservative Law&Justice party, but nevertheless took power after cleverly adding several smaller fringe groups to his coalition. His new government lost no time investigating and attempting to prosecute members of the outgoing administration over alleged misdeeds and proudly listed its efforts to restore the rule of law. But a recent survey showed that under 40% of respondents gave the coalition government a positive rating while nearly 52% negatively assessed its performance, and even more felt their lives had worsened rather than improved.
Tusk “nationalizes” private TV networks in Poland Citing the protection of “Poland’s national interests,” Polish PM Donald Tusk has effectively “nationalized two private television networks operating in Poland. The government simply added TVN, owned by America’s Discovery Channel, and Polsat belonging to Polish multi-millionaire Zygmunt Solorz to its official list of strategic companies so they cannot be sold without government consent. The real reason were rumors alleging takeover plans by Hungarian entities. If Law & Justice had attempted such a ruse, the EU, Biden Administration, maybe even the UN would be up in arms against the misrule of “Polish populists” if not downright “fascists.”
EU finally provides $9.8 billion of recovery funds Polish Finance Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz recently announced that $9.8 billion of post-pandemic recovery funds would land under Poland’s Christmas tree this year. She did not mention that funds intended to help EU countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic ordeal had been long delayed not due to any national-health considerations but only because the judicial reforms of Poland’s previous conservative government were not to the liking of the Brussels brass.
Poland raises threat level, tightens security Amid increasing signs of hybrid warfare of which Belarus and Russia are suspected of instigating, Poland has raised the country’s terrorist-threat level and tightened security measures. The threats have included acts of arson, sabotage, cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure and the spread of disinformation. Quick action by the Polish authorities has thwarted many hostile acts and detained numerous suspects, mainly Ukrainians, Belarusians and Poles. Bullet-proof vests and long-barreled weapons have been issued to all anti-terrorist officers.
Woke-style censorship law submitted to parliament A legislative proposal to introduce official censorship has been submitted to the Sejm, the main lawmaking chamber of Poland’s parliament. As has been seen elsewhere, freedom of expression is conveniently circumvented by labeling anything opposed to the Woke agenda as “hate speech.” If the law is adopted, football fans unfurling banners critical of illegal migrants or proclaiming a LGBT-free zone could face prison terms, the conservative Ordo Iuris group has warned. The Tusk government can count on any such leftist measures getting vetoed as long as conservative President Andrzej Duda remains in power. His term in office ends next August.
Poland releases large amount of butter reserves In response to soaring butter prices, Poland’s strategic-reserves agency has released some 1,000 tons of butter for sale to the highest bidder. The frozen, unsalted butter comes in 25-kilogram (55-pound) blocks with a minimum sale price of $7.13 per kilogram (2.2 lbs). The cost of butter has recently become the subject of a political dispute after Rafał Trzaskowski, Tusk’s presidential candidate, raised the issue in a pre-election speech. A recent survey showed that over half of Poles blame the government for the situation.
European Arrest Warrant issued for former justice official A European Arrest Warrant has been issued for former deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski after police failed to track him down. Romanowski, wanted by the Tusk government for alleged misdeeds including leadership of a crime gang while in office, was discharged from hospital at his request and vanished into thin air. The arrest warrant has extended the search to the territory of the remaining 26 EU countries.
Poland, other frontline nations to get €170 million from EC The European Commission has announced plans to allocate €170 million to countries neighboring Russia and Belarus in order to enhance protection of their borders. Poland is set to receive €52 million, the biggest share from the pool. Brussels says the funds are intended to “bolster capacity to counter hybrid threats”, in particular the “weaponization of migrants” by Russia and Belarus “as a political tool to destabilize EU society by exploiting the EU’s principle of right to asylum”.
AIDS victims on the rise in Poland – medical expert Prof. Monika Bociąg-Jasik, an infectious disease specialist and head of the Polish AIDS Society, cautioned that the number of HIV infections in Poland has been increasing in recent years. Currently estimated at 22,000 AIDS cases in Poland. “Since 2022, this number has been on the rise, and we must remember that diagnosed cases are only the tip of the iceberg because the disease can remain asymptomatic for many years,” she explained.
Three Polish co-productions make the Oscar shortlist “The Girl with the Needle,” directed by Magnus von Horn, is a Polish-Danish-Swedish co-production and has a chance for a nomination in the Best International Feature category. It tells the story of Karoline, a young factory worker in Copenhagen who is searching for love and a sense of morality. “A Bear Named Wojtek,” directed by Iain Gardner, a Polish-British co-production, made it to the shortlist in the Best Animated Short Film category. It recounts the story of Wojtek, a bear who accompanied Polish soldiers during World War II. “An Orange from Jaffa,” directed by Mohammed Almughani, a Polish-French co-production, has been shortlisted in the Best Live Action Short Film category. It focuses on a young Palestinian man trying to cross a checkpoint to reunite with his mother.
Polish high-schoolers touch base with US astronaut in space A group of students from Warsaw’s Telecommunications Secondary School experienced a pre-Christmas surprise when they linked up with US astronaut Nick Hague, a crew member of the International Space Station (ISS). One of the students, Amelia Szymanek, said: “Talking to an astronaut… I still can’t believe it happened. When he uttered my name, it sent shivers up my spine.” The radio connection could not last longer than 12 minutes and it had to take place while the ISS was flying over Europe at an altitude of 250 miles, traveling at a speed of 5 miles a second.
Auschwitz Museum launches new e-tool to help track victims The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in southern Poland, which preserves the site of the former Nazi German death camp, has launched a new online tool for searching information about the camp’s victims. The database currently contains data on 1,187 transports and 265,702 people, based on approximately 1 million documented data from a wide range of sources. The search for additional data will continue.
Iga Świątek exonerated from doping suspicion Last September, Iga Świątek, the world’s best women tennis player, disappeared from the courts, missed key competitions and lost the title she had held for a total of 125 weeks. It turned out that she had received a one-month suspension from tennis’ international anti-doping authority after testing positive for a banned substance. Iga was able to prove that she had not deliberately ingested a performance-enhancing drug but had unknowingly used a contaminated batch of her regular supplement.
THE UKRAINIAN CONNECTION
Compiled by Robert Strybel, Warsaw Correspondent (Updated 19 December 2024)
EU‘s new “foreign minister” mulls foreign troops in Ukraine European leaders have been discussing ways to end Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and various options have been mulled. They include the potential deployment of European troops to Ukraine for a peacekeeping mission after a possible ceasefire. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s recently appointed High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has refused to rule out the possibility of foreign troops being deployed to Ukraine. Kallas, a former Estonian PM, has made it clear that Europe could take a major role in ensuring international oversight if a ceasefire agreement were to be reached. Last summer, French President Emmanuel Macron floated the idea of NATO forces offering non- combat support such as training missions.
“Let robots not teenagers fight wars” – Zelensky tells Le Parisien In a recent interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the French newspaper that Ukraine doesn’t need fresh-faced kids in the trenches with rusty rifles (…) The days of wars won by raw numbers are long gone – this is a war of technology, not testosterone. Modern combat is about drones that see farther than a hawk with binoculars, artillery that can reach Moscow’s backyard and missiles that don’t miss. It is a war fought with algorithms, not adolescents.” Zelensky did not say who could bankroll such high-tech warfare amid fears that US funding may soon get cut back or even eliminated
Seized Russian assets to aid Ukraine’s war effort – US Treasury The Russian assets seized as part of sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to its illegal aggression against Ukraine should benefit the victim nation. The US has just given Kyiv $20 billion from Russian assets. Funding the aid through frozen assets means Russia has to “bear the costs of its illegal war, instead of taxpayers,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said recently. Those words were formulated just weeks before US President Joe Biden is replaced by Donald Trump, who has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine quickly upon taking office. He has also regularly spoken out about cutting back on continued military aid to Kyiv.
Long arm of Ukrainian justice reaches Moscow The Ukrainian Security Service has taken out a key Russian general regarded by Kyiv as a war criminal. Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, head of the Kremlin’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, was leaving a Moscow residential building with his assistant when a bomb was remotely detonated. Concealed in a parked electric scooter, its blast instantly killed both Russian officers. Kyiv took credit for the attack saying Kirillov was “responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces.” Other war criminals have met a similar fate including senior Black Sea Fleet officer Valery Trankovsky, killed in a car bombing in occupied Crimea.