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☆ Poland's President and Government at Odds Over Dismissal of State Prosecutor
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's justice minister acted illegally in dismissing state prosecutor Dariusz Barski, a top presidential aide said on Monday, opening a new front in the conflict between the head of state and the new government. Justice Minister Adam Bodnar has been tasked with unpicking policies of the previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government which critics say increased political influence over the judicial system. "The actions of the justice minister are illegal," Marcin Mastalerek, the head of Duda's office, told private broadcaster Radio Zet. "The president says directly that Mr Barski is the state prosecutor and today - it seems that this meeting has started - that is what he will tell the prosecutor," Mastalerek said. Bodnar said he had given Jacek Bilewicz the responsibilities of state prosecutor on an interim basis while a selection process for a permanent replacement takes place.

Persons: Dariusz Barski, Adam Bodnar, Andrzej Duda, Marcin Mastalerek, Barski, Zbigniew Ziobro, Mastalerek, Duda, Donald Tusk, Bodnar, PiS, Jacek Bilewicz, Alan Charlish, Anna Koper, Ros Russell Organizations: Law and Justice, Union, Radio Zet Locations: WARSAW, Poland

UKRAINE DIVERSIONReuters spoke to around a half dozen Czech and Polish defence companies and government officials who described renewed efforts to carve out a bigger share of the African arms market as the Ukraine conflict diverts Russia's attention. Privately-held defence and civil manufacturing company Czechoslovak Group - the biggest Czech defence company - said its ability to maintain and modernize armoured vehicles using Soviet-era standards has helped it win business in Africa. ...in Poland where our stand was visited by numerous delegations from African countries that appeared here for the first time," WB Group spokesman Remigiusz Wilk said. The effort to supply Ukraine has pushed Czech companies to boost production and expand supply lines, something Czech-based independent defence analyst Lukas Visingr said has burnished the region's reputation. "The Czech arms industry is stepping up its efforts towards certain African countries still using Soviet-style equipment but who start to see Russia as a problematic supplier," Visingr said.

Persons: David W Cerny, Jiri Hynek, Filip Kulstrunk, Andrej Cirtek, Pieter Wezeman, Sebastian Chwalek, –, Remigiusz Wilk, Petr Fiala, Tomas Pojar, Tomas Kopecny, Kopecny, Lukas Visingr, Visingr, Michael Kahn, Anna Koper, Alex Richardson Organizations: Aero Vodochody, REUTERS, Western, Central, Russia Czech, Defence, Western NATO, Warsaw, Defence and Security Industry Association of, Reuters, Aero, Privately, Czechoslovak Group, CSG, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, WB Group, WB, Ivory, Thomson Locations: Odolena Voda, Czech Republic, Russia, Africa, PRAGUE, WARSAW, European, Western, Czechoslovakia, Czech, UKRAINE, Polish, Ukraine, Stockholm, China, Saharan Africa, Poland's, Poland, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Prague, Mozambique

"Public media are paid for with our taxes in order to give citizens access to fair information. And that's particularly important at... election time," said Joanna Krawczyk from the German Marshall Fund, a think-tank. PiS says private media outlets such as Warner Bros' (WBD.O) TVN often distort public debate by representing foreign interests. This perceived bias in public broadcasting has exacerbated political divisions in Polish society. "When she watches TVP, he goes to the kitchen."

Persons: Kacper, TVP, Szalai, RSF, Joanna Krawczyk, KRRiT, PiS, Grzegorz Lewandowski, Donald Tusk, Alan Charlish, Gareth Jones Organizations: Telewizja Polska SA, REUTERS, Sunday Government, WARSAW, Law and Justice, Media, German Marshall Fund, European Union, Civic Coalition, Reuters, Warner Bros, TVN, European Centre for Press, Media Freedom, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, TVP, Sochaczew, Hungary, Turkey, Russia

In another dispute, Warsaw resisted a German offer to station Patriot missile air defence units in Poland before eventually agreeing to it. Among the sticking points, one German source said Poland was asking for too much money for the repair works. Another source, a German diplomat, said the talks failed partly because German companies were reluctant to share technical information. SOURING RELATIONSWhile ties between Poland and Germany have been frosty since PiS first came to power in 2015, Poles now see them worsening. Just 47% think relations are good, according to a German Polish barometer poll this year, down from 72% in 2020.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Andrzej Duda, Thibault Camus, Donald Tusk, PiS, Mateusz Morawiecki, Tusk, Angela Merkel, General Ben Hodges, Krauss, Maffei, Sebastian Chwalek, Thomas Kleine, Berlin, mushroomed, Camp David, ” Hodges, Joe, Biden, Andrzej, Duda, Chancellor Scholz, Justyna Pawlak, Marek Strzelecki, Anna Koper, Anna Wlodarczak, Alan Charlish, Sarah Marsh, Sabine Siebold, Andreas Rinke, Matthias Williams, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Russia, goading, NATO, Justice, Nazi Wehrmacht, Patriot, Law, Justice Party, U.S, Army, Reuters, Rheinmetall, Polska, Patriots, Foreign, German Marshall Fund, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Berlin, Germany, Russia Berlin, goading Warsaw, WARSAW, BERLIN, Polish, Nazi, EU, Slovakia, Poland, Warsaw, U.S, Europe, German, PiS, Japan, South Korea

☆ Poland Election Turns Germany Into Punchbag, Straining Western Alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +7 min

Persons: Marek Strzelecki, Sabine Siebold, Anna Koper, Donald Tusk, PiS, Mateusz Morawiecki, Tusk, Angela Merkel, Olaf Scholz, General Ben Hodges, Krauss, Maffei, Sebastian Chwalek, Thomas Kleine, Berlin, mushroomed, Camp David, ” Hodges, Joe, Biden, Andrzej, Duda, Chancellor Scholz, Justyna Pawlak, Anna Wlodarczak, Alan Charlish, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Matthias Williams, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Anna, Anna Koper WARSAW, NATO, Justice, Nazi Wehrmacht, Patriot, Law, Justice Party, U.S, Army, Reuters, Rheinmetall, Polska, Patriots, Foreign, German Marshall Fund Locations: BERLIN, Germany, Berlin, Ukraine, Polish, Nazi, EU, Slovakia, Poland, Warsaw, U.S, Europe, German, PiS, Japan, South Korea

☆ Poland to check vehicles crossing Slovak border amid migrant surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWARSAW, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Poland will introduce checks on vehicles crossing the border from Slovakia, the prime minister said on Monday, in measures to stem the flow of immigrants. Meanwhile, Slovakia has been struggling with a surge in illegal migrants. The number of illegal migrants detained in Slovakia has increased nine-fold from a year ago to more than 27,000 so far this year, according to the country's interior ministry. Morawiecki said that Scholz's words could be a preparation for closing the border with Poland. Muller had said that the government does not rule out also strengthening controls on the border with Germany.

Persons: Mateusz Morawiecki, Kamala Harris, Jonathan Ernst, Morawiecki, Piotr Muller, Muller, Olaf Scholz, adressing Scholz, Alan Charlish, Anna Koper, Andrew Cawthorne, Hugh Lawson, Alison Williams Organizations: Poland's, U.S, White, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Rights, Law and Justice, Slovak, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Poland, Slovakia, Warsaw, Polish, Germany

☆ Polish central bank stuns with 75 bps rate cut, zloty plunges
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Anna Koper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WARSAW, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Poland's central bank cut its main interest rate by 75 basis points to 6.00% on Wednesday, in a shock decision ahead of October elections that sent the zloty currency tumbling against the euro. The National Bank of Poland (NBP) said it took the decision because it expects inflation to return to target faster than originally expected. It said that the adjustment to interest rates would be "conducive to meeting the NBP inflation target in the medium term". NBP Governor Adam Glapinski had previously signalled that a rate cut could come in September if inflation fell to single digits. "We have already said that it is too early for a rate cut, and certainly such an aggressive rate cut, when the prospects (of a slowdown) in inflation are still distant," said Piotr Bielski, director of the economic analysis department of Santander Bank Polska.

Persons: Adam Glapinski, Piotr Bielski, J.P, Morgan, Wojciech Paczos, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Anna Koper, Pawel Florkiewicz, Alan Charlish, Anna Wlodarczak, Karol Badohal, Marc Jones, Justyna Pawlak, Nick Macfie, Sharon Singleton, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Reuters, National Bank of Poland, Santander Bank Polska, Cardiff University, Justice, Thomson Locations: WARSAW, NBP, Poland, Pawel

The company has also begun offering retired workers meals at the canteen so they can share knowledge of recently re-started lines producing Soviet-era ammunition for Ukraine, he added. Jiri Hynek, president and executive director of the Defence and Security Industry Association (DSIA) of the Czech Republic, told Reuters a lack of workers could push production out of central Europe. The association, which represents more than 160 companies, said exports accounted for around 90 percent of the industry's production of weapons and military-related supplies. Of that, Hynek estimated that supplies of military equipment to Ukraine accounted for 40% of exports. PITCHING PATRIOTISMOther sectors in Poland – emerging Europe's biggest economy – and the Czech Republic have struggled in recent years to find workers: a situation that has driven up labor costs and dampened growth.

Persons: David Hac, Hac, Jiri Hynek, Hynek, Lukas Visingr, Artur Zaborek, Zaborek, Michael Kahn, Anna Koper, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Europe's, STV, Reuters, European Union, Defence and Security Industry Association, WB Group, Central, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Thomson Locations: PRAGUE, WARSAW, Europe, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Policka, Prague, Czech, Central Europe, Stockholm, Poland's

☆ Polish president signs 'Tusk Law' on undue Russian influence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Opposition figures have nicknamed it Lex Tusk, using the Latin word for law. "In a normal democratic country, somebody who is president of that country would never sign such a Stalin-esque law," PO lawmaker Marcin Kierwinski told private broadcaster TVN 24. CONCERNSThe Polish Judges' Association Iustitia said the law breached European Union values and could prompt more punitive EU measures over democratic backsliding in Poland. Poland's dependence on Russian energy has progressively declined, even before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, allowing the import of non-Russian gas, started when Tusk was in power.

☆ Polish president to sign Russian influence bill despite opposition protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, May 29 (Reuters) - Poland's president said on Monday he would sign off on a bill authorising a panel to investigate Russian influence despite opposition criticism it is witch hunt against government opponents in an election year. Opposition figures call a bill to set up an investigative commission the "Lex Tusk", using the Latin term for "law". PO lawmaker Marcin Kierwinski condemned Duda's decision to sign the bill. "In a normal democratic country, somebody who is president of that country would never sign such a Stalin-esque law," he told private broadcaster TVN 24. Reporting by Alan Charlish, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Anna Koper; editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Poland to raise minimum wage twice in 2024, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, May 27 (Reuters) - Poland plans to raise the minimum wage twice in 2024 to help people cope with high inflation, Family and Social Policy Minister Marlena Malag said, as the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party prepares for a parliamentary election later this year. "The minimum wage next year will be above 4,200 zlotys ($1,015)," Malag was quoted as saying by state-controlled news agency PAP. She said that, like in 2023, next year the minimum wage will be raised in two steps - from Jan. 1 and July 1. The minimum wage was raised to 3,490 zlotys from January 2023 and will be lifted to 3,600 zlotys from July. ($1 = 4.1422 zlotys)Reporting by Anna Koper; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Farmers in Poland and other eastern European countries who held out for higher prices have been hit by a perfect storm. A jump in exports from Brazil and Russia helped to drive global grain prices lower while the EU opened its borders to tariff-free Ukrainian grain imports in a show of solidarity after Russia blocked the country's Black Sea ports. After opening its borders to Ukrainian grain, Poland imported 2.08 million tonnes of maize and 579,315 tonnes of wheat last year, up from just 6,269 tonnes of maize and 3,033 tonnes of wheat in 2021. If the grain corridor due to expire this month were to collapse, Ukrainian farmers would have little option but to send all their grain exports through eastern Europe. European wheat prices hit post-harvest highs in October 2022 of more than 350 euros a tonne but since then prices have dropped to pre-invasion levels of about 235 euros.

☆ Tennis Polish airline says it refused boarding to Russian tennis player
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tennis player Vitalia Diatchenko said on Monday she was refused boarding to a LOT flight in Cairo, with German airline Lufthansa then also refusing to sell her a ticket. The European Union has banned all flights from Russia and has agreed to limit issuing free-travel Schengen zone visas. In September, Finland joined the Baltic states and Poland in closing its borders to Russian tourists. Unlike many other sports, tennis did not introduce a blanket ban on players from Russia and its ally Belarus after the invasion of Ukraine. Russian and Belarusian players have been competing on the tours and at the other Grand Slams as neutral athletes.

SummarySummary Companies Three EU states have banned Ukrainian grain, food importsRomania looks set to follow suitUkraine also trying to salvage Black Sea grain dealWARSAW, April 18 (Reuters) - Poland agreed on Tuesday to lift a ban on the transit of Ukrainian grain and food products, but Ukraine said a wartime deal allowing it to safely ship grain from Black Sea ports was still under threat. Failure to resume exports into eastern European countries or secure an extension of the Black Sea grain deal would trap large amounts of grain in Ukraine, hitting its exports and causing further economic problems for Kyiv as it battles Russian troops. Large quantities of Ukrainian grain have been trapped by bottlenecks in eastern and central Europe as low global prices and demand mean grain cannot easily be sold on. BLACK SEA GRAIN DEAL IN DOUBTUkraine, which relies on grain and food sales for a significant slice of its gross domestic product, also has concerns about the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered between Moscow and Kyiv by Turkey and the United Nations last July. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York next week, Russia's U.N. envoy said on Tuesday.

☆ Analysis: Sweden faces recession as housing market troubles take toll on economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Simon Johnson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But in Sweden, the structural problems rooted in its housing market are magnifying the effects. Banking group Nordea (NDAFI.HE) expects household consumption to fall around 2% in 2023, while the National Board of Housing expects housing starts to fall around 50% in the coming year compared with 2021. "However, in the last few months, the interest rate has almost tripled making it almost unaffordable to survive," Logan said. Sweden's banks are among the most strongly capitalised in Europe - partly as a result of worries about the housing market. But Sweden's economy is likely to remain a hostage to imbalances in the housing market while its structural problems go unresolved.

☆ Polish central bank governor hopes to cut rates in fourth quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, March 9 (Reuters) - The National Bank of Poland could cut interest rates in the fourth quarter of 2023, Poland's central bank governor said on Thursday, adding that he expected inflation to fall into single digits around September. "I hope that it will be possible to cut rates in the final quarter (of this year), but this is my opinion," Adam Glapinski told a news conference. On Wednesday, Poland's central bank slightly lowered its inflation forecasts for the coming three years, reinforcing expectations that interest rates will remain at current levels after it left them unchanged for a sixth consecutive month. Glapinski said he expected inflation would peak in February at around 18.5% and would then fall to single digits at the turn of August and September. Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz, Anna Koper, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Alan Charlish; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Poland's PKN will demand compensation after Russia stopped oil deliveries, says CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, March 6 (Reuters) - Poland's PKN Orlen (PKN.WA) will demand compensation after Russia halted oil deliveries to Poland via the Druzhba pipeline in late February, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Obajtek said on Monday, without giving further details. "... Russians stopped pumping oil to Poland...so we will now take legal action and demand claims," he told private Radio Zet. He declined to give a value for potential compensation saying he could not discuss details of company contracts. Last March, Poland pledged to stop using Russian oil by the end of 2022, the same time as PKN's long-term contract with Rosneft (ROSN.MM) expired. Last week Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland would cut its oil imports from Russia to close to zero in February-March from around 10% of the oil refined by PKN at the beginning of 2023.

☆ Poland has delivered tanks to Ukraine, government announces on war's first anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Poland has delivered four Leopard tanks to Ukraine already and is prepared to deliver more quickly, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday, as Western nations increase their support to Kyiv a year after Russia invaded the country. We will definitely not leave you, we will support Ukraine until complete victory over Russia," Morawiecki said during a visit to Kyiv, standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Warsaw's commitment to its neighbour has been instrumental in persuading European allies to donate heavy weapons to Ukraine, including tanks, a move opposed by several governments, including Berlin, until recently. Poland said last month it aimed to get training time for Ukrainian soldiers on Leopard 2 tanks down to five weeks. Reporting by Marek Strzelecki, Anna Koper, Pawel Florkiewicz Editing by Alex Richardson, Tomasz Janowski and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WARSAW, Feb 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will meet leaders of NATO's eastern flank on Wednesday to show support for their security after Moscow suspended a landmark nuclear arms control treaty. Hours earlier, Putin delivered lengthy remarks laden with criticism of the Western powers, blaming them for the war in Ukraine. At the meeting, Biden plans to reaffirm commitments over their security and discuss support for Ukraine before he returns to Washington. "Lithuania and other like-minded countries have several requests, which concern air defence, forward defence presence, air defence systems, and greater investments in the defence industry," Asta Skaisgiryte said. The former Soviet republic on Russia's doorstep joined NATO in 2004 and plans to host Biden in July for the security alliance's leaders' summit.

Biden said the West was never plotting to attack Russia and the invasion was Putin's choice. "It is a big mistake," Biden said of Putin's decision before his session with eastern European allies known as the Bucharest Nine. We will defend literally every inch of NATO, every inch of NATO," he said. The Kremlin says it regards NATO, which could soon expand to include Sweden and Finland, as an existential threat to Russia. It said the leaders looked forward to further strengthening unity and collective defense at a NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

Hours before Biden spoke in Poland following a surprise visit to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed that Moscow would achieve its objectives in Ukraine and accused the West of plotting to destroy Russia. Biden proclaimed "unwavering" support for Kyiv and a commitment to bolstering NATO's eastern flank facing Russia, while rejecting Moscow's contention that the West was plotting to attack Russia. "I can report: Kyiv stands strong, Kyiv stands proud, it stands tall and, most important, it stands free. "When President Putin ordered his tanks to roll into Ukraine, he thought we would roll over. Putin said Ukraine had sought to strike a facility deep inside Russia where it keeps nuclear bombers, a reference to the Engels air base.

☆ Poland ready to support Ukraine with MiG jets if broader coalition formed, says PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Poland is ready to support Ukraine with its MiG jets, but only if a broader coalition is formed with the United States as a leader, Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki said on Saturday. "Today we can talk about transferring our MiG (jets) as part of a wider coalition and we are ready for that...Poland can only be a part of a much larger coalition here, a coalition with the United States as a leader," he said. Reporting by Anna Koper in Warsaw; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU top court adviser backs FX borrowers, Polish bank stocks fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Anna Koper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The country's KNF financial watchdog has warned that the banking sector could face a 100 billion zlotys hit in case of an unfavourable ruling. He added that if Polish courts grant remuneration to consumers the additional cost would be similar in the worst case scenario. Hundreds of thousands of Poles took out mortgages in foreign currencies, mainly in Swiss francs, attracted by lower interest rates. Many mortgage holders took banks to court, while banks started offering settlements to find an out-of-court solution. The total stock of foreign currency mortgages in Poland stood at almost 79 billion zloty in December based on the latest available KNF data, with Swiss franc mortgages accounting for over 52 billion zloty.

☆ Too early to talk about rate cuts, says Poland's Glapinski
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Inflation in Poland should start slowing sharply after the first quarter and could fall to an annual rate of 6% by December, but it is still too early to talk about rate cuts, Central Bank Governor Adam Glapinski said on Thursday. It is too early to discuss rate cuts." Analysts said that despite Glapinski stressing that the bank has not officially closed its rate hiking cycle, limited rate cuts in the second half of the year could not be excluded. "We see increasing chances for some initial rate cuts before the end of 2023." Romania's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate on hold at 7.0% on Thursday, the first pause after a 16-month hiking cycle as it expects inflation to fall.

The most contentious reforms for those in Poland's ruling camp concern the judicial system. To become law, the bill needs to be signed by President Andrzej Duda. "We will now continue to follow the next steps in the legislative process," Didier Reynders, EU Commissioner for Justice, said on Twitter. Relaxing rules on wind farm investment is also among the milestones Poland has to pass to unlock the EU funds. The amendment will slash potential onshore wind investments by 60-70%, effectively discouraging them, according to the Polish Wind Energy Association which groups some 150 investors.

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