While the deal was hailed as historic by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, it was sharply criticized by others, including NGOs, alongside both far-right and far-left MEPs. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk vehemently rejected the idea of a relocation mechanism, which would transfer migrants from frontline countries … Read more
Poland’s TVN television estimated that Civic Platform won in 10 regions, up from seven in 2018, and PiS was in the lead in six. However, other parties making up the incumbent ruling coalition are likely to have won enough regional seats to be able to control most regional assemblies, which are key bodies for managing … Read more
The claims were passed on to EU anti-fraud investigator OLAF, which started its own probe. (POLITICO and Welt, both owned by Axel Springer, aren’t naming the travel agency for legal reasons.) Despite the warning signs, however, Frontex put out a new request for tenders in December 2022 and a new contract was awarded to the … Read more
Other top officials facing a summons to appear before the commission include former PiS Prime Minister Beata Szydło, former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, and former PiS MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik — who headed the interior ministry and were recently pardoned by President Andrzej Duda following their conviction in an old corruption case. Kamiński … Read more
“If Berlin wants to transfer the money — you’re very welcome! We will even grant a discount if the money is received by the end of the year,” Sikorski said, and then added: “But seriously: money is a difficult issue in times of war and crisis.” Instead, the foreign minister suggested that the German government … Read more
Duda had said on Friday that he did not know if Ukraine would “regain Crimea,” adding that the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014, “is a special place … because in fact, if we look historically, it was in Russia’s hands for most of the time.” The remarks drew strong criticism as Warsaw has … Read more
Polish President Andrzej Duda said Thursday that he would pardon two members of parliament facing two years in prison for abuse of power — a significant retreat on his earlier position that a pardon he issued in 2015 was enough to spare them from jail. He said he made the decision after meeting with the … Read more
In a dramatic escalation of Poland’s battle to restore rule of law, the police entered the country’s presidential palace on Tuesday evening and took two MPs into custody who had been hiding under the protection of President Andrzej Duda after being sentenced to prison terms for abuse of power. The arrests cut to the heart … Read more
Polish farmers ended a blockade of a Poland-Ukraine border crossing after reaching an agreement with Warsaw that met their demands, defusing a dispute that had become an early test of the new government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Newly appointed Polish Agriculture Minister Czesław Siekierski signed the deal with Polish farmers blockading the Medyka-Shehyni border … Read more
WARSAW — Polish farmers restarted a blockade of a Poland-Ukraine border crossing on Thursday, accusing the new Polish government of failing to guarantee it will meet their demands for financial help. The farmers rejoined truckers at the Medyka-Shehyni crossing — hauliers are also blocking other crossings complaining about competition from Ukrainian rivals — turning the … Read more
