Episode 118
POLAND: Government's Budget Plan for 2025 & more – 23rd Jan 2025
Russian interference in the upcoming presidential elections, Tusk’s meeting with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, a new natural gas transmission operator, an upgrade to the Offshore Act, a request to lift the immunity from the former PM, and much more!
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Transcript
Witam from BA! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from the 23rd of January twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.
For our first story this week, on Friday, the 17th, President Andrzej Duda signed the twenty twenty-five budget plan into law, which the parliament approved earlier this month. Poland expects an almost four percent economic growth in twenty twenty-five, up from negative zero point one percent last year. It also expects inflation to be almost seven percent this year, up from five percent in twenty twenty-four.
However, Duda referred his concerns about budget cuts for the Constitutional Tribunal and the National Council of the Judiciary to the Constitutional Tribunal for review, questioning their legality.
The government reduced some budgets to fund important areas like defense, but Duda insisted that judges should receive the same salaries without delay despite these cuts.
The budget includes a deficit of 289 billion zlotych, which is sixty-six billion dollars, with a government revenue of 632 billion zlotych, 145 billion dollars, and a spending of 921 billion zlotych, which is 211 billion dollars.
Speaking of the economy, on Thursday, the 16th, the Polish central bank's Monetary Policy Council said that they are keeping the interest rates the same at five point seventy-five percent, suggesting that the inflation is stable. The last interest rate drop from six percent was in October twenty twenty-three.
Adam Glapiński, the central bank’s chief, said that they may lower the rate around mid-twenty twenty-five if the inflation stays under control.
Next up, on Thursday, the 16th, the National Public Prosecutor’s Office asked parliament to lift the immunity of Mateusz Morawiecki, the former Prime Minister, so he could face charges related to the twenty twenty presidential election, when he organized voting via post office due to COVID-19. In twenty twenty-four, the Warsaw Administrative Court ruled that Morawiecki breached the law and overstepped his authority when he ordered post offices to organize the election since only the State Electoral Commission is allowed to oversee the elections.
Morawiecki’s actions also caused a financial loss of fourteen million dollars to the state. According to Polish law, if the lower house of parliament, approves the lifting of his immunity, Morawiecki could face up to three years of prison for abuse of power.
Talking about elections, on Saturday, the 18th, Krzysztof Gawkowski, the Deputy Prime Minister, said that Russian intelligence services were recruiting Poles online, especially on the darknet, to influence Poland's twenty twenty-five presidential election. Gawkowski asked political parties for transparency and cooperation to stop Russian interference attempts.
Individuals cooperating with foreign intelligence services can face up to ten years in prison. Poland is working with the US to identify and interrupt Russian influence operations, while also receiving expertise on cybersecurity.
On that note about the United States, on Tuesday, the 21st, Tusk asked the Foreign Ministry to prepare Polish consulates in the US to assist Poles who are facing potential deportation. This follows Donald Trump's new campaign focusing on deporting immigrants.
Tusk said that all Poles facing challenges in the US would receive assistance in consulates and they are all welcomed in their homeland. He added that Poland offers opportunities for growth after twenty years of membership in the EU for every citizen abroad who decides to return.
In other news, Poland is strengthening its international partnerships. On Thursday, the 16th, Pham Minh Chinh, the Vietnamese Prime Minister, visited Poland for the first time in fifteen years to meet with Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Pham Minh Chinh announced that Polish citizens would no longer need a visa for short visits to Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Tusk promised to speed up the approval of the EU investment agreement for Vietnam and said that Poland is ready to invest in the country’s defense sector. The leaders also agreed to cooperate in helping Ukraine win the war.
Finally, both countries decided to focus on boosting economic, scientific, and technological cooperation while ensuring mutual investments.
On the following day, Tusk met with Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, in Warsaw to discuss defense cooperation and support for Ukraine. Tusk said that Poland wanted to strengthen cooperation between the EU and the UK in energy, defense and security areas during its EU presidency. The leaders also agreed to build a new bilateral defense pact within a year.
After the meeting, Starmer visited the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum to emphasize the importance of preserving history.
More meetings took place last week, as on Thursday, the 16th, Dariusz Klimczak, the Polish Infrastructure Minister, talked with Eugenijus Sabutis, Lithuania’s Transport Minister, about improving the transportation links between the two countries. Poland and Lithuania agreed to request funding from the EU to build road and rail connections, especially the road connecting northeastern Poland to Lithuania and its capital, Vilnius. The project is strategically and economically important for both countries, providing routes for both civilian and military use.
The country is upgrading its energy sector. On Wednesday, the 22nd, Gaz-System, a state-owned Polish natural gas transmission operator, opened a third tank in the Liquefied Natural Gas terminal in Świnoujście, in the northwest. The project began in two thousand six as a part of EU efforts to boost regional energy security and it took nineteen years to complete. Poland spent 417 million dollars, with 114 million being EU funds.
This expansion increased the terminal capacity from six point two to eight point three billion cubic meters annually, which meets half of Poland's gas demand.
What's more, the project will also reduce Poland's reliance on energy imports from Russia and Belarus, focusing on imports from Qatar, the United States, and Nigeria instead.
Still on energy, on Saturday, the 18th, Miłosz Motyka, the Deputy Climate Minister, announced in an interview with Polish Radio, the national public radio broadcaster, that Poland would update its Offshore Act to support and protect offshore wind farms. The amendment will include creating protective zones around wind farms to keep them safe from passing ships and fishing boats. After further consultations with industry experts, the Ministry of Climate will send the amendment to parliament for approval.
Poland's first offshore wind farm will start operating in the Baltic Sea in twenty twenty-six, marking the beginning of the country's offshore wind energy sector. Poland expects it to provide energy to one and a half million households.
On the flip side, on Thursday, the 16th, Black Red White, a leading Polish furniture company, said they would dismiss 220 workers from their plant in Przeworsk, a town in southeastern Poland, due to financial struggles. The company's revenues fell by fourteen percent in twenty twenty-three because of a drop in consumer demand, higher production costs, and other economic challenges.
The dismissal of workers will begin in February, twenty twenty-five and the Przeworsk plant will fully close by March twenty twenty-five.
The employees will receive severance pay and assistance in finding new jobs.
Following the debate we reported on last week on sex ed being included in a health education subject in schools, on Thursday, the 16th, Barbara Nowacka, the Minister of Education, said that in the twenty twenty-five/twenty twenty-six school year, the health education subject will not be mandatory. However, the government may make it compulsory after the evaluation period at the end of the year.
Nowacka criticized conservative groups for protesting the health education subject in December twenty twenty-four, saying that children have the right to transparent knowledge on health. She also added that the curriculum is well-prepared, covering topics such as physical, mental, and sexual health, as well as medicine, social issues, and environmental care.
The government will introduce the subject in primary, vocational, general secondary, and technical schools.
Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!
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