POLISH NEWS BYTES Compiled by Robert Strybel, Warsaw Correspondent (Updated 3 April 2025)
President Duda wants atomic arsenal moved to Poland In an interview for Britain’s influential daily the Financial Times. Polish President Andrzej Duda said he wanted US nuclear weapons moved from Germany to Poland to deter Russia. „The borders of NATO moved east in 1999, so 26 years later there should also be an eastward shift of the NATO infrastructure. For me, that is obvious,” Duda said. “I think it’s not only that the time has come, but that it would be safer if those weapons were already here.” Not only the actual transfer, if accepted by NATO, but that very suggestion will surely be seen in Moscow as a serious provocation and a threat to Russia’s security.
Poland signs $2 billion deal for Patriot missile support Poland has signed a major agreement with the US for long-term technical and logistical support for its Patriot missile defense systems. The deal should bolster the country’s military ties with America while reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank. Although Warsaw and Washington are now poles apart as regards Ukraine, Poland believes strong bonds with the US are essential to its security. A transactional businessman who resents America being “suckerized” by some European countries, Trump has always praised Poland for contributing more than its fair share to NATO. He also appreciates Warsaw’s extensive defense purchases in the US.
Polish troops sent to Lithuania to help search for US soldiers Responding to a request for assistance from its NATO allies, Poland dispatched a group of Polish troops to Lithuania, where four American soldiers had disappeared during joint maneuvers near the Belarusian border. Their huge Hercules amphibian had strayed into a swampy area and sank into the mire out of sight. Only immediate action might have saved them, but it took time to locate the Hercules, bring in the heaviest available equipment and lift the 60-ton armored vehicle buried beneath tons of soft mud. From the time of the tragedy, a week had passed before the victims’ bodies could be retrieved.
Poland’s jobless is EU’s lowest, manufacturing reaches high This year, Poland has scored the EU’s lowest jobless rate of 2.6%, and at the same time there has been a sustained overall improvement of business conditions. S&P Global reported that demand for Polish manufactured goods rose for the second month running, and at the fastest rate since February 2022. The 12-month outlook showed confidence rising for the fourth successive month, construction activity has increased and there have been high exports. Although Polish society is regularly bombarded with glowing economic reports and forecasts during this election yeayr, many Poles see the situation through the prism of their own own family budgets and the ever-increasing cost of living.
Can underaged Poles change their sex without parental consent? The Polish Supreme Court has issued a resolution declaring that people wishing to change their officially recognized gender no longer have to involve their parents in the case. At present, even adult wannabe sex-changers have to obtain their parents’ consent or, failing that, take them to court. The ruling has been welcomed as “ground-breaking” by the government’s hard-left, pro-gender equality minister, but the very idea of sex change is condemned as an “ideological absurdity” by right-wing and conservative groups and even many centrists. The resolution is merely an opinion, appeal or proposal but is not legally binding.
Śląsk kicks off European tour to mark Poland’s EU presidency Poland’s world-renowned Śląsk Song and Dance Ensemble has kicked off its latest European tour with a stunning performance in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Titled Europe’s Cultural Bridges, the tour was designed to coincide with and celebrate Poland’s half-year, rotating presidency of the EU Council. It also includes performances in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
TVP introduces Ukrainian-language news channel TVP, Poland’s public television, has added Slava TV to its repertoire. The new channel is primarily addressed to Ukrainian war refugees now in Poland, either temporarily or permanently, but can also be seen in Ukraine. Its name, Slava TV, replicates the Ukrainian national salute: Slava Ukrayini – Heroyam slava (Glory to Ukraine – to the heroes glory). TVP also hosts Belsat TV, something like America’s Radio Free Europe, as well as TVP World, its 24-7 English-language news channel.
Polish 14-year-old bowler chalks up one 300 game after another Gdańsk resident Patryk Dudziński, 14, is setting the proverbial house on fire with the phenomenal ease with which he repeatedly scores 300 games in American-style 10-pin bowling. The schoolboy, who religiously practices two hours a day, is hoping to show off his skills at the next European Junior Bowling Tournament. He has a unique style where both hands never leave the ball until it is released, but the opposing hand seems to give it an added guided push, apparently producing such spectacular results.
