EU-DIGEST

Labels: Chopin, EU, European Culture, Poland

Labels: EU, Neandherthal, Poland

Poland and Slovakia are going to be the two fastest growing economies in Europe in 2010 - EU Commission predicts. According to the research Polish GDP is going to rise by 1.8 per cent. Other EU countries are not going to be even near to that figure as average EU economy growth is predicted at the level of 0.7 per cent.

Financial crisis resulted in lower tax income for many countries, which means that they will have to cut on public expenditure this year. Especially Spain, Ireland and Greece are hit by this effect. Other countries with established strong economies are going to show some GDP growth. Germany will see the increase at the level of 1.2 per cent, UK 0.9 per cent and Italy 0.7 per cent. Thanks to this our country is going to reduce the distance between itself and other EU countries by crossing the symbolic boundary of 60 per cent of EU average GDP this year.

Labels: EU, Poland

The infamous sign was stolen on December 17 but shortly afterwards it was recovered and five suspects were arrested.

On Tuesday, officials in Warsaw confirmed that Poland was to formally seek the request of Sweden in investigating the theft, confirming that Polish authorities suspect a Swedish link in the crime.

Labels: EU, Neo Nazis, Poland, Sweden

Polish Budget deficit to remain below 55 percent

The economic slowdown in Poland looks likely to push public debt even higher next year, but the 2010 budget gap should still fall short of 55 percent of GDP, according to the Deputy Head of the Finance Ministry's debt department Anna Suszyńska. Many analysts are concerned that the 55-percent figure could be reached and surpassed as early as next year. However, the Finance Ministry continues to stand by its prediction, despite the rise in borrowing needs and the central budget deficit, that it will be able to effectively manage rising of debt levels and keep it under 55 percent.

The Polish government is trying to stem the spiraling debt through its privatization program, which has already begun, but the figure also rests with the strength of the złoty, as much of the country's debt is held in foreign currencies.

Labels: Economy, EU, Poland

Russia, Poland Locked in Controversy Over World War II Commemorations

Commemorations have begun in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. The ceremonies began on the Westerplatte Peninsula near Gdansk in northern Poland, where a German battleship fired the first shots of the war on a small Polish military outpost on September 1, 1939. Leaders from across Europe have gathered in Gdansk to take part in the event. Standing at a Soviet-era memorial early this morning, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned about the danger of forgetting the war's lessons. "We meet here to remember who started this war, who was the perpetrator of this war, who was the executioner in this war, and who was the victim of this war and this aggression," he said.

In a newspaper interview on August 31, Putin called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact "immoral." But he said Moscow had no choice but to sign the agreement to postpone war after Western powers concluded their own agreement with Germany. He said the 1938 Munich Agreement ended "all hope of creating a united front against fascism."

Labels: EU, Poland, Russia

Poland's economy stays afloat amid crisis - - by Monika Scislowska

Poland is showing economic resilience as its neighbors struggle with deep recessions. Robust consumer demand from a large domestic market of 38 million people is expected help growth reach around 0.5 percent year-on-year when second quarter figures come out Friday. That's not great by pre-recession standards. But it would put Poland, which didn't binge on debt during the credit boom, well ahead of other countries that joined the European Union along with it in 2004.

Labels: Economy, EU, Poland

US to abandon Polish-Czech missile shield, lobbyist says - by Andrew Rettman

The United States has all-but abandoned plans to house anti-missile bases in Poland and the Czech republic, according to a senior White House lobbyist. Riki Ellison, the chairman of the 10,000 member-strong Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said in Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza on Thursday (26 August) that the US has changed its mind to avoid a rift with Russia and is now looking at Israel, Turkey, the Balkans or ship-borne facilities instead."The signals given by generals from the Pentagon are clear: the current US government is looking for different solutions on the question of missile defense than Poland and the Czech republic," he said.

"The new [US] team is paying more attention to Russian arguments," the lobbyist added.
"Obama's people believe that many problems in the world can be more easily solved together with Moscow ...It's a question of priorities. For many Democrats, the priority is disarmament and they are capable of sacrificing a lot in order to achieve a new agreement with Russia on the reduction of strategic [nuclear] weapons."

Labels: Czech Republic, EU, Missile Crises, Poland, US

Food retailing: German Rewe sells out to French E.Leclerc

Food Retail: German Rewe sells out to French E.Leclerc

German supermarket network Rewe, which controls the Billa brand, decided to withdraw from its operations in Poland. The company will sell its 25 stores to French E.Leclerc, which already has 20 supermarkets in Poland. Billa employs almost 1,600 people across the country and generates annual revenues amounting to euro 100 million. "I am very happy that E.Leclerc has strengthened its position in Poland by making this purchase, and it will reach the relevant critical mass on the Polish market in order to compete effectively," said Alain Caparros, the head of the Rewe group.

Labels: EU, Food Retailing, France, Germany, Poland

Poland - Climate change clouds fate of last primeval forest in Europe

Poland - Climate change clouds fate of last primeval forest in Europe

Europe's last ancient forest, home to its largest herd of bison, faces an uncertain future because of climate change, but residents worry that tougher conservation efforts will damage the local economy. The 150,000-hectare (380,000-acre) Bialowieza Primeval Forest, which straddles the border between Poland and Belarus, is one of the largest unpopulated woodlands remaining in Europe. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. On the Polish side of the border, residents oppose plans to extend the protected zone of this unique habitat, which is under threat from rising temperatures and declining rainfall.

Encouraged by international conservation agencies, Warsaw wants to enlarge the area's national park, which occupies less than a fifth of the Polish part of the forest.

Labels: Climate Change, EU, Poland

A new balance of power emerges - by Peter S. Rashish

The European Parliament elections suggest that a power shift is under way in the European Union. A new triumvirate consisting of Germany, France, and Poland may be emerging; a triumvirate that will keep Berlin in the lead, increase central and eastern Europe's clout and also offer Paris the opportunity to play the role of honest broker. Those forming the US's developing strategy for transatlantic engagement should take note. It is clear that the incumbent parties in Germany, France and especially Poland, all of whom are members of the centre-right European People's Party, were the big winners. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU-CSU won 42 seats, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP took 29 seats. In both countries, the left-of-centre opposition suffered defeats of historic proportions. But the most impressive victory was scored by Civic Platform, the party of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which garnered 44% of the vote and 25 seats. Poland – one of the central and eastern European countries best weathering the economic crisis – is going to try to make its voice heard.

While US President Barack Obama has now made two visits to Europe since his inauguration and the tone of transatlantic relations has improved, it appears that his administration's strategy for engagement with the European Union is still evolving. In two policy areas that would benefit from close US-EU co-operation – energy security and the post-crisis economic agenda – Washington should build in an approach that takes account of this emerging EU balance of power.

Labels: Air France, Balance of Power, EU, Germany, Poland

Poland celebrates 20 years since end of communist rule - by Matthew Day

Poland celebrated its 20th anniversary of the elections that ended communist rule and precipitated a wave of revolution in Eastern Europe which left the Iron Curtain shattered and Europe reunited after decades of division. Coming after lengthy negotiations between Poland's authoritarian government and Lech Walesa's Solidarity movement, the elections of June 4 delivered a hammer blow to a communist bloc that was still regarded by many as indestructible. In the months that followed June 4, an unprecedented wave of revolution tore through Eastern Europe bringing an end to the Cold War and tearing up the continent's geo-political map.

Perhaps mindful that election's anniversary coincided with that of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Vaclav Havel, the dissident play write who led the Czech revolution, said that events of 1989 should provide an example to those still struggling for freedom. "I think that this anniversary is an opportunity, to send out a sign of solidarity to those nations, who are fighting for liberation," he said in Krakow. "Let this be our input in the testament of the future, in the improvement of our future, of our common world."

Labels: EU, Poland, Tiananmen Square

Poland: Teens prostitute themselves for brand clothes and vacation money

Twenty percent of teenage prostitutes in Poland sell their body in order to earn money for brand clothes, concert tickets or holiday, shows a report commissioned by Poland’s Children Ombudsman’s Office. The shocking report reveals that the number of teenagers who become prostitutes is growing and the age of teen prostitutes is coming down. Girls usually enter the sex business at the age of fifteen to sixteen. Boys also go on the streets as early as fourteen or fifteen. Twenty percent do it on their own free will. They choose to sell their bodies in order to earn money for brand clothes, fashionable gadgets or concert tickets. Material goods help them gain respect of their peers. “Young people feel they need to attend trendy clubs, wear brand clothes and have enough money for expensive alcohol and cigarettes in order to be accepted,” said Jacek Kurzępa, the co-author of the report. Another reason why teenagers decide to enter sex business is the desire to earn money easily and quickly. It is a particularly tempting option for those who collect money for holidays, pets or tickets to all kinds of music and sports events, because it saves time. There is also a group of teenagers who prostitute themselves just for a thrill, to taste a forbidden fruit, says the report. Prostitution is not perceived as bad or even shameful by many teenagers, the report shows. Young people, instead of calling prostitution by its name, use the term “sponsoring”, which softens its true meaning. For some, teenagers, those who have a sponsor, can even be role models.

Note EU-Digest: The above report also accentuates that the moral authority of the Polish Catholic Community which used to be quite influential in these matters has caved in to the powers of the consumer society?"

Labels: EU, Poland, Prostitution, Sex, Teenagers

Walesa Drops Venezuela Visit After Chavez Threatens To Bar Him

Former Polish President Lech Walesa has canceled a visit to Venezuela, after President Hugo Chavez threatened to ban the Solidarity leader. "This behavior is not very mature and insults a Polish citizen," Walesa's spokesman, Piotr Gulczynski, said Thursday. Walesa, the 1983 Nobel Peace prize winner, was scheduled to arrive in Venezuela Friday for five days of meetings with students and non-governmental organizations, Gulczynski told Poland's PAP news agency. Walesa has described Chavez as a "demagogue" and a "populist" and said government opposition must be allowed. He tried to visit Venezuela in November, but authorities talked him out of it for an unspecified "security reason."

Labels: Chavez, Poland, Venezuela, Walesa

Poland reflects on Communism's fall

Twenty years ago, Poland's communist government did something without precedent - it sat down with the banned Solidarity trade union to try to defuse growing social unrest. What became known as the Round Table Talks led to the first multi-party elections in the Soviet bloc and a stunning victory by Solidarity, led by Lech Walesa, which heralded the collapse of communism across the eastern half of Europe.

The global slowdown has dented the credibility of capitalism, and not just in Poland. So does Leszek Balcerowicz, who as deputy prime minister engineered the country's rapid transition to the free market 20 years ago, fear the state will now claw back some economic power? "I don't think so, I think the memory's not so short as to be afraid of such a catastrophe," he says. What Mr Balcerowicz, now an internationally respected economist, does fear is what he calls "creeping statism, which isn't as dramatic like communism - but may be quite destructive for the longer-term future".

Labels: EU, Poland

In George Friedman's "The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century" (Doubleday), the author predicts that Poland along with Turkey, Japan and Mexico, will become new world powers by the end of this century. We won't be worrying ourselves over Russia or China, because those countries will have experienced a breakdown of power, much like the first collapse of communism. And the war against militant Islamists that has been the primary focus of our country for the past eight years? It'll become a distant memory.

Friedman predicts that the world's falling population figures and longer life expectancy are going to mean fiscal chaos for those of us born between 1970 and 1990. It could also mean that our country will be engaged in a fight to attract a declining global labor force. We are turning immigrants away from our borders but 20 years from now, Friedman says, we will be offering incentives such as a streamlined visa program and even bonuses to anyone who will come to work in the U.S.

Labels: EU, Mexico, Poland, Turkey

Russia's Inflation Rate Up to 13.4% Annually

Russia's inflation rate rose in January for the first time in five months as the weakening ruble pushed up the cost of imports and planned tariff increases raised utility costs, the State Statistics Service said Thursday. The annual rate rose to 13.4 percent from 13.3 percent. Consumer prices rose 2.4 percent from December, when they advanced a monthly 0.7 percent. Food prices gained 15.9 percent in the year through January, while the cost of services such as electricity and heat rose 16.9 percent. A number of retail chains said at a news conference Thursday that food prices would rise 25 percent to 45 percent by the end of the year.

Russia was forced to abandon its defense of the ruble after the price of oil, the government's biggest export earner, tumbled more than two-thirds in less than six months. The ruble lost 35 percent against the dollar, the second-worst performing emerging-market currency behind the Polish zloty. Russia also allowed utilities to raise rates last month.

Labels: Economy, EU, Inflation, Poland, Russia

EU takes closer look at Polish aid for Dell

The European Commission said on Thursday it was taking a closer look at Poland's plan to give 52.7 million euros ($69.2 million) in state aid to a new Dell Products Poland computer factory. The Commission, which polices competition in the 27-nation European Union, doubts the aid is compatible with rules on regional aid for large investment projects. "We need to investigate all the effects of this aid to verify that it contributes to regional development and to ensure that it will not reinforce Dell's position or create significant capacity in a market on the decline" in Europe, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.

Labels: Dell Corporation, EU, Poland

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

Blair and Kaczynski: the enemy from within.

For the complete report from the Deutsche Welle click on this link

German Press Slams Poland and Britain After Summit

The German press on Sunday slammed Poland and Britain for putting obstacles on the road to the deal reached on guidelines for a new European Union treaty at the bloc's summit this week.

Bild, the mass-circulation tabloid and country's top selling newspaper, reserved its harshest criticism for neighboring Poland, calling the Kaczynski twins who hold the posts of Polish president and prime minister "poison dwarves." Welt am Sonntag described the haggling that preceded the deal as "torture" and said despite its eventual success the summit will be remembered mostly for Britain and Poland's "egotistical" behavior.

"Poland has failed to understand that the point of the European Union is to bury the hatred we inherited," the newspaper commented.

Labels: Britain, EU SUMMIT, Poland

Poland Celebrates Summit Deal at Home as EU Criticism Grows - by Katya Andrusz

The Polish government is being feted at home after agreeing to a last minute compromise at a summit of European Union leaders on a new governing treaty, while abroad, criticism of its negotiating style is growing. They've more or less sold it to everyone in Poland,'' said Krzysztof Bobinski, director of the Warsaw-based Unia & Polska Foundation research institute, by phone. ``But I don't think this country quite realizes what's going on in the outside world -- the losses that Poland has taken over this whole issue are huge.''

Germany's biggest selling tabloid, Bild, was critical of EU concessions to the Polish government. ``Why is Poland getting extra wurst?'' the paper asked.

Note EU-Digest: the majority of the EU should do everyone a favor and throw out the Polish bums. Who needs them?

Labels: EU CONSTITUTION, Poland

Italian PM "bitter" over anti-European attitudes at summit

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi admitted feeling "bitter" over the lack of pro-European sentiment on display at the EU summit this week, in an interview published Sunday in the La Repubblica daily. "As a politician, I am of course satisfied with the result" of the summit, which ended with an agreement on a new treaty for the European Union, "but as a pro-European, let me be bitter at the spectacle I saw," said Prodi, the former chief of the European Commission.

"The determination of governments to deny any emotional aspect of Europe is painful to me," he said, citing Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Britain as the worst offenders.

Labels: Britain, EU SUMMIT, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic

The Kaczynskis twins-Europe's "enfants terrible"

For the complete report from the Times Online click on this link

Poland - Tweedlenice and Tweedlenasty play a game of Poles apart

Half a century after the European Union was created to forgive and forget the Last Great Misunderstanding, the identical twins who are Poland’s president and prime minister let off a massive stink bomb at last week’s summit by mentioning the war. To cries of horror – and some quiet chortles – Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski invoked Nazi atrocities in order to cut Germany down to size.

The 58-year-old Kaczynski twins had kept the summit guessing about which would turn up – some thought this a bit academic since they are nearly identical, though Jaroslaw plays the Mr Nasty to Lech’s Mr Nice. “Both are small, not very bright, mean-minded and resemble provincial solicitors – which Lech used to be,” said a journalist who has met them.

But time is not on the twins’ side. Poland’s migrant workers in the EU are absorbing western ways and liberal ideas that are at odds with Poland’s past. The young are growing impatient. “We have the EU, we have the internet, we are confident,” said a market researcher in Warsaw. “Poles want jobs and better pay, but the Kaczynskis are busy fighting condoms and secret agents."

Labels: EU SUMMIT, Poland, the Kaczynskis

Germany, Poland reach 'preliminary' deal on EU voting

Germany and Poland reached a "preliminary" deal Friday to overcome Warsaw's objections to an European Union voting plan, which would lift a key obstacle to a new reform treaty, an EU diplomat said. It came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel met three times with Polish President Lech Kaczynski, following intense private talks overnight, at an EU summit dedicated to ending the bloc's two-year political malaise.

Labels: EU CONSTITUTION, Germany, Poland

EU SUMMIT: Britain and Poland blocking European Unity Process - Parlt's Poettering says goodwill must increase to secure treaty deal

Forbes reports that European Parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering said the 'goodwill' of EU member states must improve in order to secure a deal on a treaty to reform Europe's outmoded institutions. Speaking to reporters here on the second day of two-day summit gathering of EU leaders here, Poettering said: 'The goodwill (of EU states) must increase', declining to name specific countries.Poland and the UK are standing firm in their opposition to various aspects of the treaty despite negotiators' efforts overnight. Poland objects to the proposed switch to a qualified-majority system of voting, dubbed 'double majority', arguing that it gives too much weight to large countries such as Germany. As for the UK, it does not want to cede national control over foreign policy, its judicial and police system, and tax and social security rules, while refusing to give legal force to an EU charter of fundamental rights.

Labels: Britain, EU CONSTITUTION, Poland

Public support for EU Constitution hits a high

Some 66% of Europeans - and 69% of Poles - want a Constitution to be adopted, according to a Eurobarometer survey, published hours before a decisive Brussels summit. However, British citizens remain highly critical of the EU.With the threat of a Polish veto still hanging over the Summit opening today (21 June) in Brussels, new polls show that more than two thirds (69%) of the Polish population supports the "concept" of an EU Constitution.

The concept is also backed by 78% of Germans, while Belgians show the most enthusiam, with 82% saying that they support a Constitution. The Eurobarometer poll was conducted by TNS Opinion on behalf of the Commission and based on interviews with more than 29,000 people in 30 European countries. However, the poll found that only 55% of Czechs and a mere 43% of UK citizens are favourable to an EU Constitution.

Labels: Britain, EU CONSTITUTION, Poland, Polls: Perceptions

Labels: EU, Poland

Labels: EU, Poland

Poland sabotaging European Union by Blocking Progress Toward New EU Constitution with Unreasonable Demands

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated that she will not accept demands by Poland to maximize its power in an expanded European Union. The treaty requires approval by all 27 EU members and Poland has indicated it will block it unless the proposed new voting system is adjusted. What Poland is asking for is less of a gap in the weighting of votes for large versus small countries. Poland is a medium sized nation and has complained that the proposed rules favor larger nations, giving them too much power. Note EU-Digest: "As the saying goes - you give someone a hand and he wants your whole arm." Several studies on Poland's membership in the EU have show that Poland has greatly benefited from this membership. Their present demands are unreasonable and indicate a lack of understanding of the basic rules which govern a political and economic partnership."

Labels: EU CONSTITUTION, Germany, Poland

EU membership very beneficial to Polish economy

An influx of EU development funds — some $81 billion for — has given the economy a nudge, as has investment in manufacturing plants by international companies. But in many areas it is Polish businesses that are leading the way, helping to cut the EU’s highest jobless rate to an estimated 13.1 percent in May.

Poland’s economy expanded 7.4 percent in the first three months of the year, the best quarterly result since the second quarter of 1997. That comes after a healthy 6.7 percent for all of 2006 that far outpaced the euro zone’s 2.7 percent.

Labels: Economy, EU, Poland

"Poland strikes again" - wants bilateral deal with U.S. on missile shield say minister of defence

Poland's Defense Minister Aleksander Szczyglo said Wednesday in Warsaw that his country wants to conclude an agreement with the United States on the deployment of missile interceptors in the eastern European country. Szczyglo stressed that Poland wants to have good relations with the United States and wants the deal to be signed between Poland and the United States, and not within NATO.

Labels: Missile Crises, Poland

Poland's defence minister: no shield if U.S. conditions unacceptable

Poland will not allow the United States to install an anti-missile shield on its territory if it does not agree with the conditions the U.S. administration places on its construction, Polish Defence Minister Aleksander Szczyglo said on Friday. Polish negotiators at the ongoing shield talks in Prague voiced " disappointment" with the U.S. offer, particularly with suggestions that Poland should participate in the installation costs, Polish daily Rzeczpospolita reported. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Friday that he "had no knowledge" of Poland participating in the shield costs. Note EU-Digest: "The US will soon come to understand what the EU already knows - Poland's concept of a partnership is to "take all and give nothing".

Labels: EU, Missile Crises, Poland

Polish ambassador to EU Jan Tombiński,
For the complete report from Poland PL click on this link

Poland may veto new EU treaty - "Poland does not understand that European Union membership is a "two way street"

Poland's foreign minister Anna Fotyga has said that Poland will not allow the EU to hamper its sovereignty. Opening an exhibition of the history of Poland's diplomacy, Minister Fotyga said that during the June EU summit Poland will stand counter to the majority of member states.

Note EU-Digest:If Poland wants EU member states to assist her in their conflict with Russia they must also have the courtesy to act as a partner when it comes to the strenghtening of the European Union. European Union membership is a "two way street".

Labels: EU, Poland, Russia

Poland's President Says Country Can't Accept EU Voting Proposal - by Marta Waldoch and Nathaniel Espino

Poland won't accept current proposals for a new treaty on European Union voting, Polish President Lech Kaczynski said today. Poland objects to a ``double majority'' voting system, part of the original EU constitution, that according to Kaczynski gives too much power to Germany, the region's most populous country.

``It's Poland that will lose the most'' on the proposal, Kaczynski said at a news conference after an energy summit in Krakow. The country doesn't want to ``overuse'' its veto, he said, adding no country would agree to lose its votes.

Labels: EU, EU CONSTITUTION, Poland

U.S. envoy to speak at anti-gay Polish summit

Many prominent U.S. conservative groups are shifting their attention overseas this week, organizing a conference in Poland that will decry Europe's liberal social policies and portray the host nation as a valiant holdout bucking those trends.

Co-sponsors of the congress include the American Family Association, Concerned Women For America, the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, the Heritage Foundation and the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, which promotes the "intelligent design" concept of the universe's origins.

Allan Carlson, president of the Howard Center and founder of the World Congress of Families movement, acknowledges that social trends in Western Europe give conservatives little reason for optimism. Spain last year joined Belgium and the Netherlands in legalizing same-sex marriage; heavily Roman Catholic Portugal, one of few holdouts banning abortion, last month legalized the procedure up to the 10th week of pregnancy.

Labels: EU, Gay Rights, Poland

Russia ready for “asymmetrical” response to US NMD in Europe

Russia will have to find an “asymmetrical” response to maintain strategic stability if U.S. missile defence elements are deployed in Czech Republic and Poland, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs and Relations with Compatriots Andrei Kokoshin said.

“Representatives of the Russian top military command have rightfully pointed out that the deployment of a radar station in the Czech Republic will increase the surveillance of strategic deterrence forces in northern Russia, where a considerable part of submarines with ballistic missiles are stationed,” Kokoshin said in an interview with the military daily Krasnaya Zvezda published on Saturday."

Note EU-Digest: One can only wonder what the US would do if Russia placed a missile and radar defence network on the US-Mexican or Canadian-US border under the same pretext?

Labels: EU, Missile Crises, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic, US

Duma statement on US missile defense planned in Europe

Members of the Russian State Duma unanimously adopted a statement on Friday cautioning that plans to deploy elements of the U.S. global missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland may cause a new split in Europe and provoke another round of an arms race.

Unilateral decisions related to the deployment of such elements in the Czech Republic and the Republic of Poland "are pointless from the point of view of countering potential or imaginary threats from a number of states in the Middle East and the Far East, have already begun provoking a new split in Europe and prompting another round of an arms race," the statement says.

Labels: EU, Missile Crises, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic

Interview: Poland is seeking EU Treaty changes(its all about self interest)

"Poland’s newly appointed Permanent Representative to the EU, Ambassador Jan Tombiński, explains his country’s position on EU institutional reforms, the Russian ban on Polish meat, the Baltic pipeline and the EU's future prospects, 50 years after the Treaty of Rome was signed."

Question:President Kaczyński recently announced that he would put forward proposals for a Polish contribution to the EU Constitution. What will be the main elements of this proposal?"A major point of concern is the question of double majority in the voting system, even if the system is rarely applied in practice; however, this is the very core of the institutional change.Poland was granted a strong position by the Treaty of Nice, which is not reflected by the new voting system.

Labels: EU 50, European Unity, Poland, Power Politics

The Almighty Euro beats the Royal Navy-by James Lewis

Just a few weeks ago the EU celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary, headlined by the BBC and Guardian with a flood of gaudy hype about the unity and successes of Europe. Europe, it appears, has "kept the peace for fifty years," all by itself. But that brave record doesn't extend to supporting Britain against a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions by the lolly-gagging fascisti in Iran. Could it be that France and Germany are more worried about their 14 billion euros of trade with the mullahs?

Well, the real EU is a Potemkin Village, all jolly peasants and no bricks. It is held together by a grand bargain: Germany pays for French farm supports, and France fronts for Germany's return to international standing and power. Britain came in only as an afterthought, to sustain the grand illusion. But today we see what that really means when the chips are down.

Note EU-Digest: What "hogwash" by the American Thinker - the British have always boycotted every move towards unity in the EU and don't give a damned thing about the future of Europe as long as it serves them. If they want more symphathy from "continental" Europe they better get off the lap of uncle Sam and behave as Europeans. That also goes for the Poles and the Czechs

Labels: Britain, EU, Poland, the Czech Republic

Poland to uphold veto on EU-Russia negotiations unless meat ban lifted - PM reiterates

Poland will stick to its veto of negotiations over a new EU-Russia partnership and cooperation agreement, unless Kremlin lifts its ban on imports of Polish food, Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski reiterated Tuesday. "We are full of goodwill, but we will uphold our veto [if the ban isn't lifted]," Kaczynski said in an interview for public radio PR1.

Poland vetoed the European Commission's negotiating mandate for a partnership and cooperation agreement with Russia to replace the one that expires at the end of November 2007.

Labels: EU, Poland, Russia, Veto

Europe's champion versus the nit-pickers - "you won't know how good you have it until its gone" - by Keith Spicer

Europe's anthem shouldn't be Beethoven-Schiller's Ode to Joy, with its, "All men will become brothers under thy gentle wing." It should be Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi with, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

"Too many Europeans, aping shallow leaders, barely recognize Europe in their lives -- much less bless it for their happiness. Amid scattered celebrations of a uniting Europe's 50th anniversary, are Europeans losing their great historic vision?

Europe's petty demons have been crawling out from under rocks. Many politicians, especially in France, Britain, Poland and the Czech Republic, almost daily denigrate Europe. They play parish-pump politics, blaming "Brussels" (the EU capital) for anything they can't fix at home. Note EU-Digest: We can not let the "European Dream" of peace and prosperity become a "pipe-dream" because of ignorant self centered inward looking politicians in Britain, the Netherlands, France, Poland, and the Czech Republic. These countries do not form the majority among the 27 EU partner members and must not be allowed to destruct it."

Labels: Britain, EU, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, The Netherlands

Strong Polish economy earns S&P credit upgrade - by Agnes Lovasz

The "Goldilocks" economy of Poland is luring foreign investors, winning credit-rating upgrades and pushing the currency higher. The zloty rallied strongly Thursday after Standard & Poor's raised its credit rating on the country to A- from BBB+ because of its "strong and balanced growth prospects."

Economic expansion that the government says will be the fastest in a decade, along with one of the lowest inflation rates in the European Union, may add to the zloty's gains.

Labels: Economy, EU, Poland

Europe at crossroads - "Eastern Europe's inflexibility towards EU unity"

On its 50th anniversary, the EU can claim quite a positive record. But anyone can see that the integration process has come to a halt. The two expansion waves have taken a hefty toll on political unification. It’s not just the practical difficulty of finding a single voice for 27 governments. Most importantly, EU attempts to wean itself from American hegemony have been seriously undermined. London is not alone in this effort anymore. Rather, it is spearheading a group of states that lend it greater political weight.Eastern European states such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary do not just fall behind British diplomacy; often, they are the ones to take the first step. They often make claims and objections without any will to negotiate in a constructive fashion. It’s not just that they are strangers to the EU’s consensus-building habits. Their inflexibility comes mostly from a feeling of superiority drawn from their US alliance.

The EU has two options. One is to fall back on familiar tactics and small, often rhetorical steps that lead nowhere. The second is to cut ties altogether and implement a policy of so-called “reinforced cooperation” with ad hoc partnerships in projects that could inject the Union with a fresh momentum. The eurozone is a precedent and could be the model for a core of states.

Labels: Britain, Eastern Europe, EU, inflexibility, Integration, Poland, Political, US

Former communist nations of Europe lag behind West in green energy, causing friction with EU

Sun-baked Bulgaria, windy Poland and farm-rich Hungary have thousands of megawatts in untapped renewable energy that the European Union wants used to fight global warming. But eastern Europe remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, causing friction between older and newer EU members as the bloc pushes an ambitious plan to boost its reliance on green energy.

About 94 percent of the electricity for coal-rich Poland comes from coal-fired plants, a major source of the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. "They are lagging behind," Beatriz Yordi, an EU official in charge of promoting renewable energy, said of eastern European member nations. "And we are pushing them to catch up."

Labels: Alternative Energy Resources, Eastern Europe, EU, Poland