Episode 28
Poland Update – Ziobro's Influence & more – 2nd May 2023
Fuel prices fall in Poland, the turmoil in the Constitutional Tribunal continues, the main opposition will organize a protest, two political parties merged before the elections, police seized a Russian school, and the EU and Poland reached an agreement on Ukrainian grain, and much more!
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Transcript
On Wednesday, the 26th, reporters said Zbigniew Ziobro, the minister of justice in Poland, had exercised his influence in his mother’s case to involve the prosecutor's office. His mother initiated the case amid the death of her husband, since she believed some doctors were responsible for his death. In a press conference, reporters asked about the claims against Ziobro, and he said the media conducted a shameful attack on his mother. Yet despite the involvement of the prosecutor's office, the court rejected the case.
Speaking of courts, this week there were more updates about the turmoil in the Polish Constitutional Tribunal…
On Thursday, the 27th, reporters stated that the conflict in the Polish Constitutional Tribunal continues. Previously, Andrej Duda, the Polish president, made a proposal to change the structure of the Constitutional Court amid the European Union’s reaction and concern about the rule of law in Poland. The court needs to accept the proposal with the positive votes of all the judges in the court. Yet, some of the judges challenge Julia Przyłębska, the president of the court, about her overstaying in the position and refusing to cooperate in the sessions. As a response, Przyłębska and seven judges made an appeal to the rebellious judges about their challenge and urged them to do their job. The court needs to ratify the proposal for Poland to fix its relations with the EU on the basis of the rule of law.
As the day of elections slowly approaches, the tension between the ruling and opposition parties intensifies…
On Thursday, the 27th, Donald Tusk, the leader of the main opposition party, announced that his party is preparing a big demonstration in Warsaw on the 4th of June. Tusk said that the ruling party will see its time come to an end soon as it witnesses the mobilization of the opposition. He said that hundreds of thousands of people would attend the demonstration. He said the protests will be against rising prices, the lies and theft of the current government, and will ask for free elections.
When it comes to the opponent of Donal Tusk,
ccess of the government after:
Speaking more about parties and coalitions…
arliamentary election. Poland:
Let’s move on to economy related news…
e interest rate at the end of:On the same note…
On Thursday, the 27th, the president of Orlen, Poland’s biggest gas firm, announced that fuel prices would continue to decrease in the country. Daniel Obajtek, the owner of the firm, attended a green energy conference. He said that his firm had already started to cut fuel prices. He added that the discount will continue as the company has a huge number of barrels of oil in its stocks. He also announced a deal in which Poles will get free coffee or hotdogs when they get more than eight gallons of fuel. Previously, fuel prices increased drastically in the country amid the invasion of Ukraine and global energy problems.
In unrelated news …
The debate about religion continues…
On Wednesday, the 26th, a poll stated that citizens want the clergy’s privilege in the tax system to end. Currently, the clergy class can enjoy lower taxes and free public insurance..
A survey conducted by the Smartscope agency stated that 79 percent of Poles expressed their concern about the privileges religious authorities enjoy. Even conservative areas like villages expressed their discomfort with the issue. Surprisingly, 85 percent expressed their concerns the most about clergy privileges and they were in the fifty-five–sixty-four age group.
Polish students will have an important exam this week...
to prevent leaks from Mature:
When it comes to foreign affairs…
On Saturday, the 29th, the police seized a Russian embassy school in Warsaw. Police entered a school that is located at the Russian embassy and took control. People working at the school said that the police forced them to leave the building within hours. The Kremlin pledged a harsh response to the incident by saying that the act was a violation of international law since the school was located at the embassy.
In the same news, on Tuesday, the 2nd, Poland’s foreign ministry reacted harshly after a former senior Russian official suggested the death of the Polish ambassador to Russia after the school seizure. The senior official said he wonders if the Polish ambassador’s body would be found floating in the Moskva river or not. As a reaction, the Polish foreign ministry asked Russia to provide safety to Polish diplomats according to the Vienna Convention. Reporters stated that the seizure of the Russian school started serious tensions between Russia and Poland.
This week, more updates about Poland’s ban on Ukrainian grains came..
On Friday, the 28th, the European Commission announced that it had reached a deal with Poland and the other four countries that had previously halted Ukrainian grain imports. The EU trade chief said that negotiations were intense for two weeks, but the EU reached an agreement with five countries. With the agreement, the EU will fund countries financially. The ban will be an EU-wide embargo on the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed, sunflower, and sunflower oil from Ukraine. Those five countries will assure the transit of other Ukrainian products to other European countries without ending up in one of those five countries.
As a reaction, on Saturday, the 29th, the Ukrainian foreign ministry protested the ban on Ukrainian imports. The ministry had sent diplomatic notes to the Polish embassy. The spokesperson for the ministry said that there must be unhindered exports of all Ukrainian goods without discrimination.
