EU-DIGEST

Poland : Solar car completes 1st ever round-the-world trip - by Vanessa Gera

The first solar-powered car to travel around the world ended its journey at the U.N. climate talks Thursday, arriving with the message that clean technologies are available now to stop global warming. The small two-seater, hauling a trailer of solar cells and carrying chief U.N. climate official Yvo de Boer, glided up to a building in Poznan, Poland, where delegates from some 190 nations are working toward a new treaty to control climate change. "This is the first time in history that a solar-powered car has traveled all the way around the world without using a single drop of petrol," said Louis Palmer, the 36-year-old Swiss schoolteacher and adventurer who made the trip.Palmer's appearance at the conference marked the end of a 32,000-mile (52,000-kilometer) journey that began 17 months ago in Lucerne, Switzerland and took him through 38 countries.

He calls his vehicle, which was developed by scientists at Swiss universities, a "solar taxi" because he has given rides to about 1,000 people – officials and regular folk alike – to convince them of the technology's viability. Passengers have included New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Delegates in Poznan are seeking an ambitious new climate treaty that would replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012 and has required that 37 countries slash emissions of heat-trapping gases by an average 5 percent from 1990 levels. The goal is for the new treaty to be finalized at the next U.N. climate meeting in December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"Here at the conference, we are talking about reducing emissions by 10 or 20 percent," Palmer said. "I want to show that we can reduce emissions by 100 percent – and that's what we need for the future."

Labels: Alternative Energy, Automotive Industry, EU, Poland, Solar Power, UN Climate Conference

Georgian, Polish Presidents Say They Were Shot At Near Russian Checkpoint - "Most people doubt the validity of the report" - by P.P.Pan

The presidents of Georgia and Poland said they encountered gunfire while attempting to visit a Russian checkpoint near the South Ossetian border on Sunday, an assertion Russia immediately denied and described as a provocation and "wishful thinking."

"It seems to be another attempt by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to shore-up his dwindling credibility at home and in the EU", said a European diplomat stationed in Georgia.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Poland, Saakashvili

Financial crisis builds Polish euro-entry momentum - by Philippa Runner

The financial crisis is building momentum for Poland to swiftly join the EU's single currency on 1 January 2012, with a positive political climate for the euro also developing in the Nordic states. "The world crisis has shown that it's safer to be with the strong, among the strong and to have influence on the decisions of the strong," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday (27 October), adding that his pro-euro policy is "not based on any orthodoxy, any ideology" of deepening EU integration.

Note EU-Digest: "being a part of the European Union also means carrying some of the burdens and not just profiting from its benefits. A stronger, integrated and unified Europe is an important part of keeping the euro strong. You can't have your cake and eat it too Mr. Tusk".

Labels: EU, euro, European Integration, Poland

Labels: EU, Italy, Poland, Religion

'New Europe' shows resolve' - "or are they just plain wrong like they were on Iraq?" - by Peter Goodspeed

The Five Day War has revealed deep new divisions between Old and New Europe.

There is an obvious rift within the EU's 27 member states and between former Soviet satellite states who want to take tough action against Moscow and the Western European powers who cautiously warn against antagonizing a resurgent Russia.Ironically, the divisions almost mirror the splits that surfaced in Europe over the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when Donald Rumsfeld, then the defense secretary, dismissed invasion critics, saying, "You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe." His comments raised a furor, with Europeans accusing him of being both wrong and undiplomatic. Today, European tensions between the ageing West and the impatient, still insecure newcomers from the East are increasingly evident.

More immediately, New Europe's fears of being the next potential target of Russian aggression spurred Poland to conclude an agreement with Washington yesterday, establishing a controversial anti-missile defense shield on Polish soil. After 18 months of inconclusive bargaining, they signed a deal in which Washington will set up its new anti-missile shield in exchange for a promise to base 10 Patriot anti-missile batteries permanently in Poland. Washington also agreed to a mutual defense pact that commits each country to come to the others aid in a crisis.

Note EU-Digest "Some of the former European east block countries which are now members of the EU and who have enormously benefited from the economic aid provided to them by the EU seem to be unwilling to be part of a common European policy. They rather prefer to be part of the US sphere of influence. This should not be acceptable and they must be made to understand by the majority of the EU members that this behaviour is not conducive to the unity of the European Union.".

Labels: EU, EU Russia, European Unity, Georgia, New Europe, Poland, Russia; US

Poland and US agree deal for missile defense shield - by Harry de Quetteville

The agreement highlights how Russia's invasion of Georgia has prompted a swift reappraisal of the region's security and alliances. The US and Poland have been talking about the missile shield for a year but rushed to cement their alliance in the wake of this week's conflict. Donald Tusk, the prime minister, said that talks had been completed on a preliminary agreement and "technical questions remained". Washington plans to site a silo of 10 interceptor missiles at the Brdy army base in northern Poland to accompany a radar installation in the Czech Republic. The radar station, probably to be sited at Gorsko, has already been agreed by Prague and is awaiting parliamentary ratification.

Note EU-Digest: This should be a wake up call for the "old" EU member states that bringing in some of the former Soviet block countries into the EU at the insistence of US was not one of the more clever decisions they made and certainly did not enhance the political stability of the EU.

Labels: EU, Missile Crises, Poland, US

Labels: EU, Georgia, Poland, Russia

Private health care providers have captured one third of the Polish Health care market - by Monika Stefanczyk

"According to our estimates, in 2007, private spending on health care represented 36% of total health care expenditure in Poland. Such private spending comprises payments for drugs, medical devices and services directly from patients’ pockets, “unofficial” payments for medical care, subscriptions offered by medical companies and health insurance offered by insurance companies. In 2007 the key drivers of the market growth were subscriptions sold by private medical companies, OTC drugs and other products available without prescription and private health insurance offered by insurance companies.

Labels: Health Care, Poland

Poland, Sweden propose new EU outreach for eastern Europe

Poland and Sweden sought support Monday from other European Union nations for a new outreach program to build closer ties with Ukraine and the EU's other former Soviet neighbors to the east. The plan would go beyond the EU's current "neighborhood policy," which groups eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus with nations in North Africa and the Middle East. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said it was important to make a distinction because the easterners are European nations who could one day apply to join the EU. Poland and Sweden presented the plan at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Labels: EU, Poland, Sweden

The Jubilee - 15th Polish European Meetings honoring Robert Schuman

As the first non-governmental organization in Poland the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation started promoting the idea of European integration in 1991. Two years later we organized the First Polish European Meetings and thus started to celebrate Europe Day. After six years there were far more European enthusiasts in Poland than any conference room was capable of accommodating. This is why we gathered on the streets and the Schuman Parade, an invitation for every citizen to join us in the United Europe, was born that year. A few years later we are proud to say that the Parade is the biggest, annual, pro-European event in central Europe. We were clearly expressing our “yes” to the accession referendum and were all celebrating together when Poland was joining the European Union. Last year we were celebrating the 50th anniversary of signing the Rome Treaties. Throughout many years and a long way from vision to reality we have always been together. Today we are able to congratulate each other on the strong position that Poland holds in the United Europe. Therefore let me express my hope that you will join us and be our guest at the 15th Polish European Meetings.

Labels: EU, Poland, Robert Schuman Foundation

Polish Parliament to Examine Poland's Participation at Beijing Olympics - by Jan Jekielek & Cindy Drukier

Many methods can be used to voice a country's displeasure towards an Olympic host, especially if that host is a grievous human rights violator. A total boycott is not the only way, argued Polish parliamentarian Karol Karski at a press conference on March 17. The Polish government, he argued, could choose not to go to Beijing 2008, while allowing athletes to attend. Karski has mobilized the opposition Law & Justice party's parliamentary association to call for a joint sitting of the Foreign Affairs and Sports & Physical Culture committees of the Sejm (the Polish parliament) to examine this very question. The verbose title of the proposed hearing makes it plain: A discussion of the situation surrounding the organizing the of 2008 Olympics in the People's Republic of China (PRC), a nation which violates human rights and the principles contained in the Olympic Charter.

Labels: EU, Poland

EU Reform Treaty ratified by Polish parliament

The results of the vote were: 357 votes for, 55 against, 7 abstentions. Parliament will now pass a bill authorizing the president to sign the ratification of the treaty. Another way of ratifying the treaty provided for in the constitution would be to hold a public referendum. Ratification in parliament was supported by the ruling coalition, consisting of the ruling Civic Platform (PO) and the Peasants' Party (PSL), as well as the opposition Left and the Democrats (LiD).

Labels: EU, EU CONSTITUTION, Poland

Britain - Economy putting off Polish workers

Fewer Polish workers are applying to work in the UK according to latest Government figures, and experts blame the weakening state of the UK economy for the changing immigration pattern. Only 38,680 Poles signed up to the Government's register of migrant workers in the third quarter of 2007, a slump of 18% from the previous year, according to new figures from the Border and Immigration Agency published this month.

Jan Mokrzycki, president of the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, said: "The economy in Poland has picked up and unemployment has dropped down. There are jobs advertised all over the place. Manufacturers are looking for labour and especially skilled labour. In 2012 we have the football world championships coming. They are building stadiums and hotels and so there are jobs available. "Adding to this - people want to go home because their friends and families are back there and if there is no economic necessity for them to remain in the UK, they will go back home.

Labels: Britain, Poland

Polish PM starts Moscow visit focusing on missile defense, visas

Poland's prime minister is meeting with his Russian counterpart as part of his one-day visit to Moscow set to focus on U.S. missile defense plans, visa regulations and Russia-EU ties. The visit is Donald Tusk's first to Russia since he came to power in November 2007, when he moved to bridge a gap in bilateral ties. Moscow has since agreed to lift a 2005 embargo on Polish meat, and Warsaw, in response, to withdraw its veto from cooperation pact talks between Russia and the European Union.

Labels: EU, Missile Crises, Poland, Russia

Poland Demands US Protection as Missile Shield Debate Heats up

Poland finds itself between a rock and hard place in regards to the planned deployment of US missiles on its territory. As a result, the Poles want assurances that they will be protected, whatever their decision. Poland cranked up the diplomatic heat on Washington Saturday when Defense Minister Bogdan Klich called for a special military treaty ahead of negotiations on a US missile shield in Europe.

Demanding the same agreements and protection afforded the likes of Italy and Turkey, Klich suggested that the United States owed Poland for the support and concessions it had made over the years.

Labels: EU, Missile Defence, Poland

Poland signals a shift on U.S. missile shield - by Judy Dempsey

Signaling a tougher position in negotiations with the United States on a European anti-ballistic missile shield, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski says the new Warsaw government is not prepared to accept U.S. plans to deploy part of the shield in Poland until all costs and risks are considered. "This is an American, not a Polish project," Sikorski said in an interview published in the weekend edition of the daily Gazeta Wyborcza. The previous Polish government had consented in principle to accept parts of the U.S. shield, but no formal agreement has been signed. Now Sikorski is saying that the terms under which the shield would be deployed were unclear and that the new government wanted the risks to be explained, the financial costs to be set out and clarification on how Poland's interests would be defended if the shield were deployed on its territory. "We feel no threat from Iran," Sikorski said, challenging the U.S view that some of the biggest threats facing the security of Europe and the United States are from "rogue states" in the Middle East, including Iran. Note EU-Digest: Poland's courageous stand against the placing of US missiles on its territory reflects the will of the majority of its population and that of the EU.

Labels: EU, Missile Crises, Poland, US

Polish soldiers face more dangerous missions this year

This is going to be a year of more dangerous foreign missions for Polish soldiers. Although the decision to pull out 900 troops from Iraq by October has already been approved by Poland’s president, the present contingent of 1200 soldiers in Afghanistan is to be enlarged to 1600. Starting this spring Poland will also participate in the EU military mission in Chad.

Labels: Afghanistan, Chad, EU, Military, Poland

Polish premier to visit Russia in late Jan.

Poland's new prime minister, Donald Tusk, will visit Russia in late January, the Polish parliamentary speaker said on Tuesday. Speaking during a video link between Warsaw and Moscow, Stefan Niesiolowski said: "We were glad to hear today that our premier is to visit Moscow in late January, and that Russia's foreign minister will visit Warsaw before then." Ties between Poland and Russia began to improve after the new pro-business government came to power in Poland in October. Moscow and Warsaw have since agreed to tackle the two main points of contention in their relations. Moscow has announced plans to lift an embargo on Polish meat supplies, and Warsaw pledged to lift a moratorium on a new EU-Russia cooperation pact it imposed in response to the trade restrictions, which it considered political.

Note EU-Digest: A Kremlin aide said Tuesday that consultations would be held with Poland early next year over Washington's plans to build a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe. "I am happy there will be discussions over the missile defense shield," the aide, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said at a news conference. He added that the talks would be held in Warsaw. Washington wants to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic as part of a shield it says is designed to protect Europe from what they call "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.

Russia believes that the shield is targeted against its missile arsenal and poses a threat to its national security.

Labels: Donald Tusk, EU Russia, Missile Crises, Poland

The Netherlands: Polish problem' will resolve itself say experts

Recently released figures show that an estimated 100,000 Eastern Europeans, most of them Polish, are currently working in the Netherlands. Social Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner saw no cause for alarm in these figures because they roughly matched his own ministry's estimates. However, several parties in parliament were alarmed and held pleas to keep Romanian and Bulgarian workers waiting at least a little longer. These are the same knee-jerk reflexes that were on display soon after Poland joined the European Union. Malgorzata Bos, editor-in-chief of the website Polonia.NL, also subscribes to the so-called factor-4 rule of thumb. This economic principle states that people will go looking for work abroad as soon as the wage level there is four times higher compared to their own country, but return home as soon as the difference is reduced.

Note EU-Digest: That is very optimistic thinking. Reality usually is quite different. On the other hand, why should the Polish immigrants return home after a while. They can only be an asset to the aging Duth population. Therefore we say Przyjąć z zadowoleniem!

Labels: EU, Immigration, Poland, The Netherlands

Poland vows new era in relations with EU and Russia - by Renata Goldirova

In an effort to put Poland back on the European stage, the country's new leadership is set to be the first to ratify the EU's Lisbon Treaty, the bloc's new institutional set-up agreed in October.

"I hope that Poland will be the first country to ratify the treaty. This would be a symbolic gesture, signifying Poland's return to the heart of Europe", speaker of the Polish parliament Bronislaw Komorowski said on Thursday (22 November).

Labels: EU, Poland, Poltical, Russia

Poland: EU urges Poland respond CIA camp charges

The European Commission has urged the Warsaw government to respond to the Council of Europe's charges on reported secret CIA prisons in Poland. This was the EC's second appeal to Warsaw as Poland failed to produce an answer in July, Polish Radio said Friday. The EC is awaiting Poland's explanation about charges alleging the United States placed its secret detention camps for terrorist suspects in a number of European countries, including Poland.

EC spokesman Frisco Roscam Abbing said the commission needs Poland's response as early as possible, the report said.

Labels: CIA, Poland

Poland will repair ties with EU and Russia - Lucia Kubosova

Poland's prime minister elect Donald Tusk has indicated that improving relations with Russia will be among the top priorities of his cabinet, with Moscow also sending signals of hope for solving long-term disputes with Warsaw. As official results confirmed the election victory in Poland of the Civic Platform (PO), the pro-business and pro-EU centre-right party, on Tuesday (23 October), its leader said Moscow will be one of his first destinations for a state visit, along with Washington and Brussels.

Labels: Donald Tusk, Elections, EU, Poland, Russia

Polish premier is routed in record vote, polls show - by Nicholas Kulish

Voters appeared to have ousted the prime minister, one half of Poland's wonder-twin team, in parliamentary elections on Sunday. The challenger, Donald Tusk, declared victory for his pro-business party, Civic Platform. The prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, conceded defeat as two major exit polls showed his Law and Justice Party trailing Civic Platform by double-digit margins. His brother, Lech, will remain president and retain veto power over the presumptive new government's legislation.

Official results are not expected until Tuesday, which could determine whether Civic Platform achieves an outright majority or more likely needs to form a coalition with the centrist Polish Peasants Party. With unofficial results, anything could happen, but Kaczynski congratulated his opponent after what appeared to be a significant defeat. Leaders across Europe were likely to be relieved at the ascension of Civic Platform, a pro-Europe party. Under the Kaczynskis, Poland has earned a reputation as a consensus-breaking troublemaker.

Labels: Donald Tusk, Elections, EU, Poland

Kaczynski concedes defeat in Polish election

Out-going Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has accepted election defeat after being forced to call an early ballot. Kaczynski wished Donald Tusk, the expected victor in the Polish elections, every success. "We didn't manage to fight this large front which was deployed against us," Kaczynski said. But as combative and defiant as ever, he added: "We musn't forget that we won five million more votes, 50 percent more than in the last election, despite this unbelievable attack." Kaczynski has vowed that his Law and Justice Party will return and provide strong opposition to the new government.

Labels: Donald Tusk, Elections, Poland

Opposition Heading to Victory in Poland - by David McHugh

A pro-business opposition party that wants to bring Poland's troops home from Iraq had a double-digit lead over the prime minister's strongly pro-U.S. party in the country's parliamentary elections Sunday, according to exit polls. State TV projections showed the Civic Platform party and its preferred coalition partner, the small Polish Peasants Party, winning a majority of seats in the lower house, which would allow them to form a government together and oust Jaroslaw Kaczynski as prime minister. Civic Platform was projected to take at least 224 seats and the Peasants Party 27 seats.

Kaczynski appeared headed for a stinging defeat in an election where Poles passed judgment on his combative approach to the European Union and controversial effort to purge former communists from positions of influence.

Labels: Donald Tusk, Elections, EU, Poland

Exit polls delayed in Polish election

Warsaw - Exit poll results are to be delayed by nearly two hours in Poland's Sunday parliamentary election until 10:55 pm (2055 GMT), Poland's State Elections Commission (PKW) announced Sunday. A shortage of ballots at polling stations in the capital Warsaw resulted in extended voting hours, precipitating the extra campaign blackout of one hour, fifty-five minutes.Polish media had originally planned to release exit

at the official close of voting.

Labels: Elections, EU, Poland, Political

Urban Poles Spurn Politics for Business- by Jan Puh

Poland's city-dwellers are more interested in making money than politics and that could mean an upset for the Kaczynski twins in this weekend's elections. Chaos reigns in Warsaw politics, both domestically and abroad, and the new elections scheduled for this weekend are unlikely to lead to more stable conditions. Observers Thursday said the election race was still wide open. The latest opinion polls show the center-right opposition party Civic Platform is slightly ahead of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's Law and Justice, although neither party seems likely to win an outright majority. Support for Civic Platform has surged in the last few days after its leader Donald Tusk defeated Kaczynski in a televised debate. Despite the political turmoil, the country is booming, with Gdansk only one of many examples of progress. The Polish economy will grow by more than 6 percent this year, and the unemployment rate in Poland has dropped from 19 to 12 percent since the country joined the EU.

The urban economies in the new Poland are doing especially well. Cities like Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan, governed by pragmatists who have carefully distanced themselves from the political wrangling in Warsaw, have almost no unemployment.

Labels: Donald Tusk, Elections, EU, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland

Poland looks likely to elect party vowing harder bargain with US on Iraq, missile defense

Poland's weekend elections could bring to power a party that favors an eventual end to the country's military mission in Iraq and tougher bargaining on hosting a U.S. missile defense shield. The pro-business Civic Platform party leads Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's nationalist, conservative Law and Justice party in polls ahead of Sunday's vote. Both favor a strong alliance with Washington, but Civic Platform shows signs it may be quicker to push for what it views as Poland's interests. Since taking power in fall 2005, the Law and Justice government has twice extended Poland's military mission to Iraq, beefed up the country's contingent in Afghanistan to over 1,000 troops, and voiced strong support for hosting the missile base despite objections from Russia.

Labels: Donald Tusk, Elections, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland

Humour hits hard at Poland's ruling power twins

What's the difference between Poland in World War II and 2007? In World War II, the Polish government fled to London and the Polish people were at home. In 2007, the Kaczynski twins are home and the Polish people have fled to London. As their country braces for snap elections Sunday which are being seen as a referendum on two years of often controversial conservative rule, Poland's President Lech Kaczynski and his identical twin Prime Minister Jaroslaw, are the butt of a wave of jokes. For those who remember the communist era, the wave of cynical humour has a familiar feel, evoking the way people used to mock the regime and the economic shortages which were a feature of daily life for ordinary Poles.

Polish Internet surfers can feed their need for novelty thanks to video-sharing site YouTube, for example, where a Star Wars-themed "Attack of the Clones" clip showing millions of Kaczynskis bracing to invade Earth had received more than two million hits by Friday. The 58-year-old, almost indistinguishable, diminutive and portly Kaczynskis are a dream target for humorists. "What do the Kaczynskis do on a tennis court? They play volleyball," goes one Polish favorite. Their surname derives from "kaczka", the Polish word for duck, and waterfowl are an ever present feature of anti-Kaczynski comedy.

Labels: Donald Tusk, Elections, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland

For the complete report from the EUobserver.com click on this link

Polish elections remain unpredictable ahead of Sunday vote - by Lucia Kubosova

This Sunday the biggest of the new Eastern Block member states that joined the EU in 2004 with 38.2 million inhabitants, Poland is holding its seventh parliamentary election since the fall of communism in 1989.

Mr Kaczynski's key rival in Sunday's elections is Donald Tusk, the leader of the pro-business and pro-European Civic Platform (PO), who is promising to improve Poland's problematic relations with other EU countries and bring along stability after months of political turmoil. Mr Tusk has also said he will cut down red tape for businesses, introduce a 15 percent flat tax and improve the country's absorption of EU funds. If the brothers lose, it may be because Tusk manages to unify Poles who have grown tired of the stridency -- directed at German politicians, former communist informers, gay-rights campaigners and many others -- that's become a Kaczynski hallmark, said Bogdan Wojciszke, a professor at Warsaw's School of Social Psychology.
``The Kaczynskis have significantly strengthened this sense that the world is unjust,'' he said. ``This just sustains a harmful and debilitating myth. The coming vote will show how many Poles prefer the myth to stay alive and how many want to opt for reality.''

New polls conducted by PBS DGA and the Center for Public Research both show the Platform with 39 percent of the vote and Law & Justice with 34 percent; a third poll, by Gfk, put the Platform lead at three percentage points. Either party would require a coalition with smaller parties that exceed the 5 percent threshold for representation in the parliament.

Note EU-Digest:Poland under the leadership of the twin brothers Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Lech Kaczynski has not only ridiculed Poland on the international scene, but also worked as a stumble block in relation to the advancement of European unity.

Labels: Donald Tusk, Elections, EU, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland

Poland threatens to reject EU treaty - by Dan Belefski

A European Union treaty meant to improve Europe's profile on the world stage was thrown into doubt Friday after Poland threatened to reject the draft agreement. "We are not happy with the current text, because elements we wanted are not in there," said a senior Polish diplomat, requesting anonymity. "We are not yet ready to approve this treaty in its current form." Next week, President Lech Kaczynski of Poland will meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to discuss Warsaw's concern.

Note EU-Digest: The Poles should be told: "Take it or leave it".

Labels: EU, Poland

Why did Poland accuse the EU of the "herd instinct"? - by Yelena Shesternina

In the last few days, the Polish government has managed to provoke two scandals in major European institutions - the Organization of European Security and Cooperation (OESC) over the parliamentary elections in Poland, scheduled for late October, and the European Union over a much more important issue - capital punishment. Last week, Poland again resorted to veto, its traditional way of dealing with the EU. This time, Warsaw vetoed the proposal of the European Commission and European Parliament to mark October 10 as an EU day against death penalty. "We do not consider ourselves supporters of the herd instinct," explained Wladyslaw Stasiak, minister of Interior and Administration, and voted against the proposal. He said a general right to life day would be more appropriate.

Note EU-Digest:In June of this year, the Polish government appealed the ruling of a European Human Rights Court that ordered the largely pro-life nation to pay restitution to a woman who was not permitted to obtain an abortion under strict Polish abortion law. According to the Irish Times, the court yesterday rejected Poland's appeal and confirmed the previous ruling. Poland is starting to show an obstructionist pattern against established EU rules and regulations, and seems to forget that membership in the EU does not only include economic benefits, but also solidarity among the partner members and respect for established EU laws.

Labels: EU, European Court of Human Rights, Poland

Identical twins leaders preside over political circus that has Poles laughing — and cringing -by Monika Scislowska

What do you get when two pudgy identical twins who gained fame as impish child actors become president and prime minister of Poland? A foolproof recipe for political vaudeville. Ever since Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski won elections in 2005, Poland's political scene has become so loony that some observers are hailing a golden age of political entertainment.

There are serious consequences to all of the wackiness: The ruling coalition collapsed this week due to increasingly bizarre internal rows, opening the way for general elections as early as October.

Labels: EU, Poland

Poland edged closer to snap elections, markets stay cool

Poland edged closer to snap elections late yesterday, after President Lech Kaczynski and opposition leader Donald Tusk agreed that a vote was 'inevitable' in the coming months to help halt a government crisis.

An early poll raises the prospect of a government led by the economically liberal Civic Platform (PO) party, which leads in the polls and is favored by investors.

Labels: Elections, EU, Poland

PM to resign, blames him for ongoing political strife and redicule of the country

Former President Lech Walesa called on Poland's prime minister to resign, saying he was responsible for political turmoil that was undermining the country's reputation abroad. Wrangling within Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's coalition in recent weeks has weakened the government, leading to speculation of a possible collapse. Walesa said it was also making Poland into an international laughing stock.

Walesa, a Nobel peace laureate for leading the dissident movement that eventually toppled communism in Poland, said the prime minister should share the blame for the political turmoil with his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski. "I was just in the Caribbean, and everywhere people know what's going on in Poland, and everywhere they are making fun of us," Walesa said on TVN24. "Even abroad the Kaczynski brothers are perceived as a source of unrest." "If the prime minister cannot take advantage of what he has, he should step down," Walesa said.

Labels: EU, Poland

Poland's unsteady government - Crash, bang, fizzle (Europe's Banana Republic)

"Outsiders often mock Poland's prickly, obstinate prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. But a collapse of his government, followed by months of instability, might be worse. An anti-corruption watchdog this week named a deputy prime minister, the temperamental farmers' leader Andrzej Lepper, in a bribery scandal. Mr Kaczynski promptly sacked him (for the second time). Mr Lepper, who denies any wrongdoing, threatened to take his party, Self-Defence, out of the coalition. That would have meant minority rule and perhaps an early election, bogging down Poland's haphazard reforms completely. The European Union's most unpredictable member would be even harder to handle."

Labels: EU, EU Economy, Poland

Poland on brink of early elections as corruption charges lead to deputy PM's dismissal

Poland is on the brink of early elections, as the leader of one of the three coalition parties has been sacked as deputy prime minister amid allegations of corruption involving his party, Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said in a televised interview late Monday. "There are serious reasons to believe they [members of Lepper's Samoobrona party] may have been involved in criminal activities," Kaczynski said on public television channel TVP1. "Mr Lepper declined to resign of his own accord."

Labels: Elections, EU, Poland

Poles smudge EU agreement before the ink has even dried - by David Charter

A deal on Europe’s future, stitched together at last week’s bad-tempered summit, began to unravel yesterday after the intervention of the EU’s most unpredictable leader.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the Polish Prime Minister, who sent his brother Lech, the President, to the summit, stunned Brussels by declaring his determination to renegotiate the compromise. The twins spent much of last week’s detailed negotiations on the phone to each other and Lech had said that his brother was content with the package. But Jaroslaw, who demanded extra voting power for Poland, insisted yesterday that the deal had not taken full account of Poland’s demands.

Note EU-Digest: The fact that Poland elected Jaroslaw and Lech Kaczynski as their leaders should be a major worry to the rest of Europe on the sanity of the Polish electorate. It's time the EU cuts Poland down to the size. If the Poles don't accept being part of a European team, the rest of us should at least have the courage to kick them out.

Labels: EU, Poland, Unity

Poland riles Germany with a lewd take on the motherland - by Ian Traynor>

The right-wing Warsaw weekly magazine Wprost, which backs the conservative nationalist regime of the prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and his twin brother, the president, Lech Kaczynski, has the cover of its latest issue as a montage showing "a beaming chancellor Merkel as "Europe's stepmother" baring her breasts to nourish the infant Polish twins.

The magazine's treatment of Mrs Merkel was condemned across the political spectrum in Germany yesterday. "This montage is tasteless and does nothing to help German-Polish relations," said Rainer Brüderle, of the liberal Free Democrats. Markus Meckel, of the Social Democrats, and head of the German-Polish parliamentary group, said: "It is quite unbelievable. Poland has lost so many friends over the past weeks and months. It should really think hard in the future about how it hopes to win them back."

Labels: EU, Germany, Poland