POLAND: The Final Debate & more – 29th May 2025

Witam from BA! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from the 29th of May twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.

Let’s kick off with an update on the presidential elections On Friday, the 23rd, Rafał Trzaskowski, the Warsaw mayor and presidential candidate from the ruling Civic Platform Party, and Karol Nawrocki, the conservative candidate from the Law and Justice party, had a final live TV debate ahead of the 1st of June runoff.

They debated key issues like the economy, healthcare, and Poland’s role in Europe. Trzaskowski backed pro-EU reforms and public services, while Nawrocki pushed for national sovereignty, traditional values, and closer ties with the US.

However, the debate made headlines for a different reason when cameras caught Nawrocki discreetly slipping a nicotine pouch under his lip.

Health officials accused him of promoting a harmful and illegal product, though tobacco-free nicotine pouches are still legal for adults in Poland due to unclear regulations. Nawrocki dismissed the criticism, saying he used it because he was tired of listening to Trzaskowski.

More about the elections as on Sunday, the 25th, thousands of people gathered on the streets of Warsaw to show their support for one of the two candidates ahead of the presidential runoff.

About 140,000 people cheered for Rafał Trzaskowski and around 50,000 supported Karol Nawrocki.

Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister from the Civic Platform, joined the march along with Nicușor Dan, Romania's President-elect, who spoke at the rally, saying people in both Poland and Romania had picked honesty, fairness, and staying close to Europe instead of turning inward or leaning toward Russia. He said the two countries should stick together and keep pushing for democracy and strong ties with the EU.

On that note about PM Tusk, on Monday, the 26th, he announced a huge one billion dollar plan to expand the Sławków Euroterminal in southern Poland which is the only EU rail hub that handles freight from Ukraine and Asia.

The terminal’s capacity will grow by over seventy-five percent, allowing it to handle more than 500,000 containers annually. The renovation will be carried out in stages over the next few years. With the expansion, Poland will be able to handle more shipments heading west and avoid routes that have become dangerous in the east because of the war in Ukraine.

Tusk said it is a big opportunity for Poland and that the country wants to make a lot of money by helping rebuild Ukraine’s economy, as Ukraine will use the expansion for trade, improving its economy. He also added that the terminal will stay under Polish control, even though other countries like China, Switzerland and Kazakhstan want a share in it. Dariusz Klimczak, the Infrastructure Minister, said this upgrade will make sure Poland stays a key player in moving cargo across Europe.

On Wednesday, the 28th, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, said that this summer, Poland should get about eight to twelve billion złoty, around two to three billion dollars, from two payment requests made at the end of twenty twenty-four.

This is part of the National Recovery Plan, a big EU program to help Poland recover from the pandemic. Poland uses this money to fix roads, upgrade trains, improve healthcare and schools, and support green energy.

The whole plan is nearly 60 billion euros in investments, paid out in parts based on the country's progress. So far, Poland has received sixteen billion euros. The country is supposed to finish all the projects by August twenty twenty-six to get the last payment, but the government is asking for three extra months, aiming to postpone the deadline to November twenty twenty-six.

Switching gears to defense, on Tuesday the 27th, Polish airborne troops and rocket teams arrived in Finland to take part in Swift Response twenty twenty-five, a huge NATO drill practicing quick deployments in Northern Europe. Some Polish soldiers flew in, while others came on a navy ship that also carried their gear.

Swift Response twenty twenty-five is part of the bigger Defender twenty twenty-five drills, with over a dozen NATO countries and 25,000 troops involved. The exercise includes fast joint operations, like soldiers being airlifted and dropped by parachute at the same time in Norway, Sweden’s Gotland island, Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland.

Swift Response will run until the end of May, and after that, NATO will hold more exercises in the Balkans and Central Europe.

Since we mentioned the military, on Monday, the 26th, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s Defense Minister, met with Pete Hegseth, the US Defense Secretary, at the Pentagon in Washington.

Hegseth praised Poland’s high defense spending, which is five percent of its GDP, plus sixty billion dollars in military contracts with the US. He also thanked Poland for hosting 8,000 American troops, saying that US President Trump also praised Polish leadership.

Kosiniak-Kamysz called the meeting a significant step forward in bilateral relations between the two countries and showed strong support for the US in its efforts to help bring lasting peace to Ukraine.

In another meeting, on Tuesday, the 27th, Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s Interior Minister, met with Kristi Noem, the US Homeland Security Secretary, in Jasionka, in southeastern Poland. They talked about border security, migration, police cooperation, and the fight against drug crime and global cartels.

Noem was especially interested in how Poland secures the Polish-Belarusian border, especially patrol tactics, barriers, and surveillance technologies from Belarus. She agreed to join a future meeting in Poland with other interior ministers from countries such as Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland. Noem also invited Siemoniak to next year’s World Cup, and they talked about managing big international events.

Siemoniak said the meeting showed how close Poland and the US are. Moreover, the fact that Poland was the first stop on Noem’s official European trip made the visit even more meaningful.

Also on Tuesday, fans of the English football club Chelsea got into a fight with fans of the Spanish football club Real Betis on the streets of Wrocław, in western Poland, before the UEFA Conference League Final.

The clashes happened mainly in the city center, around Market Square and Solny Square, where fans threw chairs from outdoor cafes. Police jumped in and arrested a Spaniard who was the most aggressive. Later that night, police caught three more Spanish fans with stolen UEFA flags they’d ripped off a lamppost.

While PM Tusk said there’s zero tolerance for street violence and praised the police for their quick action, some people felt the police weren’t tough enough. A lot of locals were also shocked and upset about the damage done to Wrocław’s historic city center.

Meanwhile in law-making, on Friday, the 23rd, the government approved a new program to help kids and students from families affected by fossil fuel-induced disasters such as floods and storms. They will set aside fifteen million złoty — almost four million dollars — between twenty twenty-five and twenty twenty-seven to support around 1,700 students each year.

The support includes, per student, emergency educational funds — up to 1,000 złoty (which is around 260 dollars); money for therapy and educational trips — up to 1,700 złoty (around 500 dollars); and funding for care and therapy activities — up to 570 zloty (about 150 dollars). Besides money, it also offers psychological and educational help.

This program continues past help for kids hit by disasters but now includes more students, like older ones and kids in foster care, who didn’t get support before.

Closing this edition with new policies, on Tuesday, the 27th, the Social Insurance Institution announced that starting from the 1st of June twenty twenty-five, early retirees who stopped working due to tough jobs or long working history, and disability pensioners can earn more money without cuts if they make up to up to 6,000 zloty, around 1,300 dollars, gross a month. If they make more than that, their benefits might be reduced depending on how much they go over the limit.

However, if they earn more than 11,600 zloty, about 2,500 dollars, their benefits could be suspended.

In Poland, these people currently get monthly payments starting at about 1,900 zloty, around 500 dollars, depending on their situation.

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

We hope you’re enjoying the update! If you have questions, ideas, or feedback, send us an email at info@rorshok.com.

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