POLAND: Deputy Prosecutor General Suspended & more – 13th Feb 2025

Witam from BA! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from the 13th of February twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.

Kicking off this edition, on Monday, the 10th, Adam Bodnar, the Prosecutor General, suspended Michał Ostrowski, the Deputy Prosecutor General, for six months after he launched an investigation into a possible coup attempt by the current government. The investigation followed accusations from Bogdan Święczkowski, the head of the Constitutional Tribunal, who said that the ruling government, including PM Tusk, made changes to the Constitutional Tribunal and the National Council of the Judiciary to gain political control over them, which damaged their independence.

Ostrowski questioned several officials after Święczkowski’s accusations, raising concerns that his actions were politicized and that it would harm the prosecution’s credibility. His suspension aims to protect the prosecution's reputation, and Ostrowski has the right to appeal.

The tide turned unfavorably for another politician. On Friday, the 7th, Polish prosecutors charged Błażej Spychalski, the former spokesperson for President Andrzej Duda, with four counts of corruption related to diploma fraud at Collegium Humanum, a private university in Warsaw offering Masters of Business Administration or MBA and postgraduate programs. Spychalski gave money and other benefits to the university's former rector in exchange for MBA diplomas for himself and his wife. He also used the fake diploma to try to get a job at Orlen, Poland's biggest oil and gas company.

Authorities set his bail at 100,000 zloty, which is about 24,000 dollars and placed him under police supervision. This case is part of a broader investigation into corruption at Collegium Humanum.

Also on Friday, Gazeta Wyborcza, a daily newspaper known for its progressive views and investigative journalism, published details about how Mariusz Błaszczak, the former Defense Minister and member of the opposition party Law and Justice, leaked top-secret military documents for political propaganda.

Sławomir Cenckiewicz, a historian with strong ties to the Law and Justice party, created fake military plans and made them look like they were from the ruling Civic coalition. They were classified as top-secret to make them seem more legitimate.

Błaszczak leaked those documents to promote a false narrative during the twenty eleven election campaign, saying that the government under PM Tusk would surrender eastern Poland to Russia.

He might lose his parliamentary immunity and face penalties, including fines or imprisonment for two to five years, because he had no right to leak plans with top-secret status.

On Monday, the 10th, Jacek Dobrzyński, the spokesperson for Poland's Minister of the Interior and Administration, announced that the government would establish a new commission to investigate abuses of power against democratic activists between twenty sixteen and twenty twenty-three, during the rule of the Law and Justice party. Dobrzyński said the commission will look into cases where authorities ignored political abuses. It will also include lawyers and human rights activists to help and support victims. Adam Bodnar, the Minister of Justice, and Tomasz Siemoniak, the Interior Minister from the Civic Platform party will lead the project.

On Tuesday, the 11th, Radosław Sikorski, the Foreign Minister, criticized the EU’s migration deal about the EU countries' shared responsibility in handling migrants and refugees during his appearance on Polsat News, a Polish private news channel. He said that Poland should receive compensation for hosting more refugees than other countries.

Sikorski also expressed disappointment that Germany rejected the idea of jointly funding the protection of Poland’s eastern border, where Poland is heavily investing in fighting illegal immigration. He added that this idea was meant to encourage more cooperation and burden-sharing among EU countries in securing external borders.

He also discussed the war in Ukraine, saying it could end quickly if Russia withdrew to its internationally recognized borders, which could happen with just a phone call from Putin to his military chief.

Next up, on Tuesday, the 11th, President Duda attended a ceremony in Vilnius, where Lithuania, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia - disconnected from the Russian electricity grid and synchronized their electricity grids with the European system. This event marked a major step towards energy independence from Russia. President Duda, along with other leaders, and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, celebrated the end of reliance on Russian infrastructure.

Gitanas Nausėda, the Lithuanian President, thanked Poland for facilitating the transition through the Poland-Lithuania LitPol Link interconnector.

The historic event signifies a new era for the region’s energy security and its integration with the EU.

To learn more about this, check out the Rorshok Multilateral Update with the link in the show notes!

Speaking of energy, on Monday, the 10th, the Orlen Group, a large Polish multinational energy company, confirmed the discovery of a new natural gas deposit in Siedlemin, a village in western Poland, with nearly a quarter of a billion cubic meters of gas. This discovery strengthens the country’s energy position, and the company will continue exploring the area to increase gas extraction by four billion cubic meters per year by twenty thirty. Poland currently extracts about seven billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.

From Tuesday, the 11th, to Thursday, the 13th, the Spain-Poland Business Forum took place in Warsaw. The event, organized with the support of the Spanish Embassy in Warsaw and the Polish Trade and Investment Agency, hosted delegations from fifty Spanish companies in sectors such as technology, renewable energy, and those focused on Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.

The forum focused on investment opportunities in energy, transport, and space to strengthen economic ties between Poland and Spain. Krzysztof Paszyk, the Polish Minister of Development and Technology, met with Carlos Cuerpo, the Spanish Minister of Economy, to discuss future economic investments. Cuerpo said that trade between Spain and Poland has grown fifty percent over the past five years.

On another note, on Monday, the 10th, Polish prosecutors reopened an investigation into a case in which Gerald Birgfellner, an Austrian businessman, lost nearly 1.5 million dollars to the Polish company Srebrna. Between May twenty seventeen and July twenty eighteen, Srebrna, responsible for high-rise projects, hired Birgfellner to help with planning and development services for two high-rise buildings. However, someone who worked for Srebrna pretended to be in charge and didn’t pay Birkfellner for his work.

The prosecutor dismissed the case four years ago, possibly due to a lack of evidence. Srebrna has ties with Jarosław Kaczyński, the head of the Law and Justice party, who managed state-backed real estate projects. Kaczyński denies any wrongdoing, calling the investigation politically motivated.

On cultural updates. On Monday, the 10th, the City Council of Gdynia, in northern Poland, awarded an honorary citizenship title to historian Norman Davies. The ceremony also coincided with the 99th anniversary since the Polish government officially recognized Gdynia as a city. Davies has written over twenty books, including key works on Polish history, and has received numerous honors, such as the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest and most prestigious state honor.

He holds both British and Polish citizenship. Monika Strzałkowska, the City Councilor, praised Davies for promoting Polish culture worldwide. Even though Davies could not attend, he expressed gratitude in a video message and promised to be a loyal citizen of Gdynia.

And to wrap up this edition, on Tuesday, the 11th, Dawid Podsiadło, one of Poland’s most influential contemporary artists known for his blend of pop, indie, and alternative rock, announced a new music festival: Zorza or Dawn. The festival will take place in summer in six cities across Poland, including Wrocław, Warsaw, and Kraków.

The two-day festival will feature popular Polish artists like Artur Rojek, Kortez, and Sokół. Presale tickets are now available. A one-day pass costs 250 zloty, which is sixty dollars, while the two-day pass is 450 zloty, 110 dollars.

Check out the link to the ticket website in the show notes!

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Do zobaczenia!