Emergency Meeting After Wagner’s Rebellion & more – 27th June 2023

Witam from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from the 27th of June twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.

Let’s start with what is new in foreign affairs...

On Saturday, the 24th, Polish authorities held an emergency meeting amid the rising tension in Russia, since a private mercenary group revolted against the Russian army and the Defense minister on Saturday. The prime minister and the heads of the Ministry of National Defense attended the meeting.

After the meeting, the president, Andrzej Duda, made a statement with the country’s defense executive. He said that since the escalation in Russia had faded away on Sunday, the 25th, the incident did not pose a threat to Poland, so the authorities would not take any extraordinary measures.

Speaking of Russia,

On Wednesday, the 21st, Duda, stated that Russia may interfere with the upcoming parliamentary election. He ordered an increase in national security measures before the elections to prevent any Russian interference. In his speech, he gave the example of the twenty seventeen US election, in which Russia allegedly interfered with the election process.

Related to national security, Poland detained two Belarusian spies...

On Wednesday, the 21st, Authorities sentenced two Belarusian citizens for spying on the Polish Armed Forces and defense facilities. They reported that the Belarusians arrived in Poland under the guise of professional drivers and worked for the Belarusian intelligence service. Authorities reported that, amid the invasion of Ukraine, Belarus increased its espionage activities in Poland.

When it comes to the border dispute between Poland and Belarus,

On Friday, the 23rd, Poland expelled eight people from the country as they allegedly undermined the country's security. Authorities reported that seven people out of eight were Georgians, and they were the key to the illegal crossing from Belarus to Poland. Also, authorities revealed that one was associated with ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a terror organization. Those eight people will also not be able to enter EU’s member countries for ten years.

On the same note about Polish international relations…

On Monday, the 26th, Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, met with his Slovakian, Hungarian, and Czech counterparts at a summit between the V4 countries. The prime minister and his counterparts assured that they would not accept any mandatory relocation of migrants by the EU. Morawiecki said that the EU should craft a migration policy to prevent illegal migrants from coming to Europe.

Let’s also see heated debates in the domestic sphere,

On Wednesday, the 21st, Jarosław Kaczyński, the president of the ruling Law and Justice party, returned to the cabinet as the only deputy minister. All other deputy prime ministers resigned, but they didn’t say why, before Kaczyński assumed as the only deputy minister in the government. Reporters stated that Kaczyński will coordinate all of the government’s work ahead of the parliamentary election, and he will work to end infighting in the ruling coalition.

Speaking of the ruling party,

On Wednesday, the 21st, a poll revealed that lowering the retirement age would help the ruling party increase its votes. Fifty-five percent of the participants in the poll stated that it would help the Law and Justice Party win the election again. Fifty-nine percent of opposition participants stated that this would help the ruling party in the election.

On that note about in the opposition,

On Monday, the 26th, reporters stated that the opposition would take more seats in the parliament if they participated the upcoming election with a joint list. A study and poll on the election revealed that the opposition will get more votes if they compete separately in the election, yet paradoxically, they get fewer seats in the parliament and do not secure the majority.

On Monday, the 26th, Sławomir Mentzen, the leader of the Confederation Party, commented about his party’s possible coalition with the opposition or with the ruling party. He underlined that his party has a program of lowering and simplifying taxes, and if any party agrees with that, they can consider forming a coalition after the election. The Confederation took seven percent of all votes in the twenty nineteen election, and it can be one of the key parties after the twenty twenty-three election.

This week, Poland continues to strengthen its cybersecurity and military,

On Thursday, the 22nd, the government announced that it would boost efforts to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity. Mariusz Błaszczak, the defense minister, made the announcement at a cybersecurity conference amid the increasing cyberattacks on Polands. Previously, Poland set up a Cyberspace Defense Force to secure Polish cyberspace and respond to cyberattacks. Also, Błaszczak said that the government launched a new education program to boost cybersecurity skills among the public.

On the same day, Poland tested its short-range air defense system in a military drill. Błaszczak stated that the country is ready to protect its airspace from external threats. The new air defense system will work to protect the skies from cruise rockets or drones.

In the economy,

On Monday, the 26th, Duda, approved a bill to abolish tolls on highways. With the new measure, state-owned highways will be free soon. Also, the prime minister promised to scrap all the tolls on private-owned highways within a year.

Another price reduction took place on oil,

On Friday, the 23rd, Orlen, Poland’s energy giant, announced that it would reduce oil prices even more for the summer. Daniel Obajtek, the CEO of the company, said that Poles will reach oil with a discount from the 30th of June to the 31st of August . This is not the first time the energy giant has given discounts to Poland.

On Thursday, the 22nd, Poland opened a new polymer factory worth 2 billion dollars to strengthen Poland’s energy independence. The prime minister attended the opening ceremony and stated that the country is launching its biggest industrial project of the past few years. Authorities stated that the factory is the biggest of its type in Central and Eastern Europe. The new factory will create thousands of employment opportunities for Poles.

Speaking of the prime minister…

On Monday, the 26th, authorities stated that the prime minister’s convoy had a car accident in the northeastern village of Czajki. A driver carrying three other people lost control, drove into the convoy, and collided with a police car. They reported that the accident did not cause any harm to the prime minister, while two police officers and two civilians were injured.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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