Parliament challenged the EU's agreement on immigrants & more – 20th June 2023

Witam from BA! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from the 20th June twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.

On Thursday, the 15th, the Polish parliament challenged the EU over its decision to allocate illegal migrants to the member countries. The parliament, accepted a declaration that Poland will oppose any attempts to dictate the acceptance of illegal immigrants by the country. Some members of parliament defined the move as blackmail by the EU since Poland will have to pay twenty-four thousand dollars for each not-accepted refugee.

Jarosław Kaczyński, the president of the ruling party, stated that the government will put the migration issue to referendum to show the public's dissatisfaction with the EU’s decision. Marek Ast, a ruling party politician, said that the government can hold the referendum at the same time as the parliamentary elections, which will be held around October this year.

In relation to the migration debate, one incident that shocked Poland added more tension to the existing debate

On Monday, the 19th, the murder of a 27-year-old Polish woman in Greece created an outcry across the nation. This week, authorities reported that Anastasia Rubinska, a Polish woman working in Greece, was lost in the middle of the night. Local police reported that she met with five men from Bangladesh and Pakistan. On Monday, they found her dead body on the island of Rhodes after one of those men raped and killed her. Authorities stated that the suspect added pills to her drink the night she went missing. This incident also fueled the hatred of illegal migrants in Poland, as authorities stated that the suspect entered Greece illegally and stayed in a refugee camp for three years.

Amid the nation-wide condemnation, Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, stated that Poland will ask for the extradition of a man suspected of murdering Anastasia Rubinska from Greece. Morawiecki stated that the suspect should face the most severe consequences before a Polish court. Also, Zbigniew Ziobro, the minister of justice, announced that Poland had launched an investigation into the murder.

The parliament was busy with another very important proposal.

On Friday, the 16th, the parliament accepted the changes in the controversial Russian influence law amid domestic and international condemnation. President Andrej Duda previously asked for amendments to soften the Russian influence law to meet the demands of the domestic opposition and international pressure. According to the new changes, the committee on Russian influence will not be able to punish politicians by dismissing them from holding public offices. Also, the committee will only consist of non-political members. The law will operate only to find out which politicians are under Russian influence and declare this to the public.

On the same day, the Polish parliament accepted a resolution to support Ukraine in becoming a member of NATO. Members of Parliament voted in favor of the resolution with an overwhelming majority. The resolution said that they could invite Ukraine to join the alliance in the same way they invited Finland and Sweden

When it comes to the abortion debate…

On Thursday, the 15th, thousands of Poles demanded the relaxation of their country’s abortion law with several protests across the country, after a pregnant woman died because the doctors did not perform an abortion, even though her life was at risk. The government said it was a doctor's error. Protests took place in major cities, including Warsaw, Łódź, Kraków and Lublin.. .

Speaking of the government…

On Wednesday, the 14th, reporters stated that Jarosław Kaczyński may return to the government to resolve internal conflicts within the ruling coalition. Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, said that they would discuss the return of Kaczyński to the cabinet in the next few days. Reporters stated that the move is to strengthen Morawiecki's position ahead of the parliamentary election. Reporters also said that the components of the United Right, the ruling coalition, respect Kaczyński and that it will be helpful to end infighting, especially between the ruling party and the Sovereign Poland party.

On Wednesday, the 14th, the government ordered 250 million dollars’ worth of mine-laying vehicles to strengthen the army. The government keeps allocating a considerable amount of funds to the army amid the increasing Russian threat against Poland. The Polish army will receive twenty-four automated mine-laying systems in twenty twenty-six and twenty twenty-eight.

Since we are talking about the government, let’s also talk about its important meetings,

On Thursday, the 15th, Andrej Duda, met with his counterparts from the Comoros, Zambia, and South Africa in Warsaw. The presidents of the three African countries visited Poland to discuss bilateral relations as well as their mission to help Russia and Ukraine hold peace talks. Reporters stated that the president’s talk with his Zambian counterpart was the first-ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries.

During the meetings, there was a rising tension between Polish authorities and South African government delegations who were accompanying their president Polish authorities did not let the delegations leave their plane in Warsaw airport as they determined unauthorized weapons and undeclared delegations in the plane. South African authorities said that because of the incident, their president was without his guards and was unprotected during his visits to Poland and Ukraine. They called the incident ‘an act of racism" while the foreign minister of Poland denied the statement and said that the delegations should have known the procedures before their arrival.

In another meeting with a tech giant,

On Friday, the 16th, Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Poland is going to receive its biggest foreign investment in its history, with Intel, an American chipmaker, outlaying 4.6 billion dollars in the country. The global tech giant will establish a new assembly and test facility near the southwestern Polish city of Wrocław, which will create 2,000 new jobs for the locals. Morawiecki said that with the launch of the new Intel plant, Poland will become a key part of the high-tech supply chain.

In unrelated news,

On Thursday, the 15th, the European Union's top court decided to support Poles who were victims of foreign exchange-denominated mortgages. Until wenty ten, many Poles bought foreign-currency mortgages. Yet, many Polish banks canceled the mortgage loan agreements as some Poles were not able to pay their monthly installments because of the devaluation of the currency in twenty ten. The court dictated that Poles could ask for their payments back from banks as well as extra compensation because of the hardship they had to face during those times.

On Saturday, the 17th, thousands of people marched in the Polish capital to raise awareness about LGBT+ rights in Poland. Participants called for the end of discrimination against the LGBT+ community. The US Ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski, also participated in the event with an American flag. The EU previously stated that Poland is the worst country in the Union to live in for LGBT people.

On the contrary, some others held an anti-LGBT march in the capital,

On Monday, the 19th, a group of people organized a march to promote family values and oppose abortion and euthanasia. The march was called This Year's March for Life and Family and took place in Warsaw, the capital. Participants stated that the state should promote Christian values more and oppose same-sex marriages and abortion.

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