Poland in Favor of Ukraine Being a NATO Member & more – 18th July 2023

Witam from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from 18th of July twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.

Let's get the show on the road with important foreign affairs news.

On Wednesday, the 12th, President Duda urged NATO to accept Ukraine as a member country at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Duda said that Ukraine will strengthen NATO with its experience in war. At the summit, member states agreed to establish closer relations with Ukraine, and its future membership.

Also, at the summit, Duda stated that approximately 100,000 NATO troops are ready to station in Poland if there is a threat from Belarus. He stated that NATO regarded Belarus as a potential threat as Russia is deploying nuclear weapons there. Also, the summit decided to send further weapon stockpiles to Poland in case Belarus or Russia attacked. This way, NATO’s response will be fast. Also, Prime Minister Morawiecki stated that Poland feels safer as NATO members support the country.

On Thursday, the 13th, Duda met with his South Korean counterpart in Warsaw. The two presidents signed a memorandum of understanding to provide support for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Duda said that South Korea will take part in the construction of Poland’s planned mega-airport, and nuclear power plants. The South Korean leader also stated that the country would increase the number of flights to Poland in the next few days.

When it comes to Russian-Polish relations,

On Friday, the 14th, Russia closed down a Polish diplomatic building in the Russian city of Smolensk. Amid the move, Prime Minister Morawiecki stated that Poland would shut down Russian diplomatic buildings if Russia kept closing down Polish offices. He said that the country has constant communication with its citizens in Russia to prevent any problems they might face.

On relations with Ukraine,

Also on Friday, the 14th, reporters stated that Poland will contribute twenty-eight million dollars to the European Investment Bank’s fund to support the reconstruction of Ukraine. EU countries pledged an immediate fund consisting of more than 400 million dollars to Ukraine.

This week's domestic agenda was as intense as foreign affairs.

The Parliament passed several acts this week.

On Friday, the 14th, The parliament accepted a bill to provide further protection to children. The adaptation of the new law came following the death of a child after his stepfather tortured him in May. According to the new law, all children’s institutions will have to comply with a set of child protection standards. Also, authorities will have to put more effort into detecting child abuse.

On the same day, the parliament accepted a bill to introduce free medicines to children and the elderly. According to the bill, people under eighteen and over sixty-five will get medicines for free. Reporters stated that the program would cover almost twelve million people. Also, the program will double the number of medicines covered by the state to almost 4,000.

On Wednesday, the 12th, the parliament passed a resolution to boost green energy in the country. The accepted law will increase the share of renewable energy sources in domestic consumption. The regulation was an important step to implement the EU’s law on climate and energy in the domestic legislature.

When it comes to the internal security of the country,

On Friday, the 14th, Authorities detained a Polish citizen for planning a terrorist attack in the country. Poland’s Internal Security Agency stated that the eighteen-year-old man was a representative of the Islamic State terrorist organization (best known as ISIS). He had obtained information to make a suicide explosive belt but Authorities prevented the attack.

Speaking of security,

On Wednesday, the 12th, authorities stated that the number of thieves increased by thirty-one percent in commercial facilities compared to the previous year. Official figures imply that authorities arrested 32,000 people this year for shoplifting. Yet experts stated that real numbers are way higher than official figures. Moreover, thieves not only shoplift but use other techniques, such as changing the labels of expensive products with labels of cheaper ones.

There is a heated debate about immigrants in Poland currently.

On Friday, the 14th, Prime Minister Morawiecki said that when the main opposition party was governing the country in twenty fifteen, they were going to allow the entrance of illegal immigrants into the country. He blamed the former PM Donald Tusk, the leader of Civic Platform, for the move. He said that, because of an EU directive, the Tusk government was preparing to accept illegal immigrants who had escaped from Syria and Iraq. He said that the Tusk government prepared big centers to accept a great number of migrants in twenty fifteen.

On Saturday, the 15th, the minister of health received backlash on social media because he said the health system was fine. The reaction came after Szymon Hołownia, the leader of the Poland twenty fifty party, tweeted that Poland needs to renew its health system. As a response, the minister of health stated that the Polish health system is already fine and asked, "Have you been waiting months to see a doctor?" to the leader of the Poland twenty fifty party. The question caused backlash as some Poles online started to complain about huge queues and not getting enough treatment in hospitals.

On the same day, some criticized Zbigniew Ziobro, the minister of justice, as he suspended the imprisonment of a woman who protested against the LGBT+ community. During an LGBT parade in twenty twenty, a woman named Marika tried to capture another woman’s rainbow bag to protest against the LGBT community. A court decided to sentence her to three years in prison for robbery. Yet, the conservative Polish government decided to release her, and President Duda will officially pardon her in the next few days, a move that received backlash from the opposition.

In an election debate…

On Tuesday, the 18th, a survey showed that half of Poles do not believe the next parliamentary election will be fair. According to a survey conducted by the Pollster Research Institute, fifty-one percent of the participants are afraid of an unfair election. The elections were called into question as the ruling party, Law and Justice, might do everything to stay in power.

In unrelated news,

On Monday, the 17th, a poll showed that Polish women are less enthusiastic about having a child. A survey stated that ten percent of the participating women between the ages of eighteen and forty do not want to have a child ever. It is only six percent for men. Also, only eighteen percent of women want three or more children. Forty-seven percent want two children in their lives.

And to close this edition…

On Monday, the 17th, a plane crash in the country killed five people and injured eight others. In the countryside of Warsaw city, a small training plane fell into a hangar with ten people present. Authorities reported that one pilot passed away in the incident. Experts believe that bad weather conditions caused the crash.

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

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