NEWSLETTER
From Poland with Love. July
Topic of the Month
Fuss over the Immunity
Marcin Romanowski, a former Polish deputy justice minister was detained in a probe into the misuse of public funds. He was charged with 11 counts related to his supervision of the Justice Fund, e.g. participating in an organized criminal group, abuse of power, and causing significant harm to the State Treasury (PLN 112 million, ca. EUR 26 million). Prosecutors had intended to keep Romanowski in detention for longer than usually allowed by citing the gravity of the alleged crimes.
Before the arrest, Sejm stripped Romanowski of his immunity as an MP. However, Romanowski’s lawyers appealed to the Council of Europe, as the politician has been a member of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) since January. They claimed that Polish law agencies had failed to notify PACE about the arrest. The president of PACE, Theodoros Rousopoulos, sent a letter to speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, in which he said that Romanowski was covered by immunity as a member and that judicial proceedings against him should be suspended. A Warsaw court ordered his release due to the PACE immunity.
It gave political fuel to PiS. Mateusz Morawiecki called the detention “strictly political action that deserves contempt”. Romanowski compared the actions of the Polish government to those of Russia and Belarus. "It's not about me, it's about the Polish state, which has suffered very serious damage in the international arena, by causing a situation in which a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was illegally detained", the ex-minister stressed.
The whole situation was commented as a great defeat of the Prosecutor’s Office. Minister of justice Adam Bodnar announced his intention to file an appeal. He still believes that revoking the immunity by the Sejm was sufficient for his detention. He is convinced the decision of PACE and the Warsaw court are erroneous. “I believe there are very serious arguments indicating that immunity simply does not apply”, Bodnar said. According to the minister “there is a usurpation of competence by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, because the act of which Mr. Romanowski is suspected has nothing to do with activities in the Council of Europe”.
Politics
The Most Conservative Abortion Bill Rejected
Sejm has rejected a bill that sought to decriminalize the act of helping someone get an abortion. Only 215 MPs voted in favor, and 218 MPs were against. The ruling coalition has in total 234 seats, and the vote shows a division in the government regarding socio-cultural issues and confirms changes in area of women rights and minority rights will be extremely difficult to conduct in this term.
The bill would have decriminalized the act of helping a woman obtain an unlawful abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy (currently punishable for up to three years). It would have helped, among others, doctors performing terminations in the early weeks of pregnancy or due to fetal anomalies, and activists who provide women wanting to terminate their pregnancies with pills. The bill was sponsored by the Left party and was labeled the most conservative one of four drafts put forward by members of the ruling majority. Nevertheless, it was too progressive for some MPs from the Third Way (alliance of the agrarian PSL and centrist Poland 2050). 24 PSL MPs voted together with PiS and far-right Confederation to reject the bill, only four female PSL MPs supported the proposal.
PSL leaders including the party leader and deputy prime minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz argue that they cannot support such changes as their voters are conservative and demand full support for life. It is interesting, however, because surveys show that even PSL voters favor liberalization of the abortion law. PSL leaders also stress it makes no sense to waste so much time and effort for women’s reproductive rights now because president Anrzej Duda will oppose all attempts in this area. Shortly before the crucial vote in the Sejm, Duda answered “no!” when asked if he would sign the bill concerning the decriminalization of abortion and assistance in terminating a pregnancy up to 12 weeks. The president continued that he believes that a pregnant women should not be "punished in any way" for having an abortion, but penalizing individuals who participate in the illegal process is "a completely different matter".
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the Polish parliament building in Warsaw, and in other cities, to protest. They chanted “Women’s Hell”, or “No more waiting. Time to fulfill promises”, and demanded demission of Kosiniak-Kamysz.
The Left MPs decided to re-submit the same draft. Civic Coalition announced it will support it, and reassured that the bill will be voted as many times as it passes. There are hopes some PSL politicians will leave the plenary during the vote to allow their coalition partners to have the majority against PiS and the Confederation.
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The number of legal abortions almost doubled in 2023, compared with 2022. The numbers, however, are still very low. Only 425 legal abortions were carried out in Poland in 2023, which was the second year with the nearly full abortion ban law after the verdict of the Constitutional Tribunal. It was 161 in the previous year, and 107 in 2021. Before the ban was introduces, the number of legal abortions was about 1000 a year.
(Domestic) Diplomatic Wars
In March, Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski announced he would recall over 50 ambassadors and withdraw additional dozen candidates proposed by the previous government to address Poland's foreign policy challenges. President Andrzej Duda protested stressing the government cannot do that without his consent. Under the Constitution, foreign policy is the responsibility of the government. The ambassadors, however, are appointed and dismissed by the president.
It started a serious conflict between the two centers of executive power. A surprising one, as it was commented by the media that Duda and Sikorki had agreed on the matter, and Sikorski would save the most important Duda’s allies as ambassadors, including those in Beijing and the Vatican. MFA was fully backed by the prime minister. “If there is no other option, we will recall ambassadors to the country and until the president’s position changes, or until the president changes, diplomats currently acting as chargé d’affaires will serve as ambassadors”, Tusk said, adding that: “Either way, we have to improve and build a team loyal to the Polish state”.
The most pronounced battle was over the embassy in Washington, D.C. The government appointed Bogdan Klich, a senator (Civic Coalition) and former defense minister, to head the Polish mission in the United States. The president’s resistance means that Klich will run the post in Washington as a chargé d’affaires, which will diminish his prestige. In the meantime, current ambassador nominated by PiS, Marek Magierowski was demanding nearly PLN 1 million (ca. EUR 230.000) in compensation for the time he would have remained in his post had he not been withdrawn. Sikorski called these demands “scandalous”. “Service to Poland cannot simply be a way for someone to get rich”, he commented.
Earlier this year, Polish public opinion observed a clash over the ambassador to NATO. Duda refused to appoint a replacement for Tomasz Szatkowski, a PiS nominee. Polish government wanted to have a new envoy before the July NATO summit in Washington. Tusk argued before the Sejm that that the military counterintelligence service suspected Szatkowski of mishandling classified documents, contact with foreign security services and obtaining unauthorized financial benefits. According to Tusk, Szatkowski should not have received security clearance. Duda, however, believed Szatkowski is innocent and appointed him as a personal advisor, and even wanted to include him in presidential delegation to the NATO summit.
The new majority gave its positive opinion on the candidacy of Jacek Najder as Poland's next ambassador to NATO. Najder was a permanent representative between 2011 and 2016. Duda has opposed this candidacy calling Najder’s nomination “astonishing”, and his representative stated that the president needs to close cooperation with the ambassador to NATO as he represents the country at NATO summits.
Moreover, Sikorski commented that ex-PM from PiS, Mateusz Morawiecki, tried to convince Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – both PiS and Fratelli d’Italia form together the ECR group in the EP - to stop the replacement of Poland’s ambassador to Rome. Melloni did not follow Morawiecki’s advice and Ryszrad Schnepf, former ambassador to the US, received the agrément of the Italian government. Morawicki’s lobbying in a foreign country against the government has been called a “sabotage” and “scandal” by the current government.
Will PiS Bankrupt?
The State Electoral Commission (PKW) has postponed its decision regarding the electoral report of PiS. The decision should be made by August 29. PiS is the only major party without its electoral report approved due to financial irregularities. Lack of the PKW stamp may cost Jarosław Kaczyński’s party 75% of its total subsidy (in total PLN 26 million, ca. EUR 6 million).
Media reported that PKW will not take into consideration campaign financing from the Justice Fund, as requested by justice minister Adam Bodnar. It was demonstrated by media and politicians that PLN 224 million from the Fund were spent in constituencies of MPs from the Sovereign Poland, hard-right ally of PiS (read more in the Politics section or in the May issue). Some PKW members commented that they have not received enough documents from other state authorities to analyze the case, and they reminded that PKW does not have competences or resources to investigate the case itself. Instead, the PKW will examine only documents from the Supreme Audit Office, the Government Legislation Center (RCL) and the Research and Academic Computer Network (NASK). Regarding NASK, PiS politicians tasked this important state agency dealing with disinformation to analyze support for their policies and to promote online some of the party leaders. In the case of RCL, PiS is accused of hiring additional staff in this governmental institution to work in campaign of candidates of the party.
Media comment that 5 PKW members are in favor of rejecting the report by PiS and 4 are against. If this is true, PiS will be in huge financial troubles which will threaten its existence. In the past, PKW has rejected electoral reports for smaller mistakes whipping out parties from the political scene. Allegedly, PiS is already planning a large-scale crowd funding campaign to fix its own budget.
Economy
1,9 Trillion Euro Needed for Carbon Neutrality
It is estimated by the Polish Economic Institute (PIE) that Poland needs an additional EUR 1,9 trillion for investment by 2050 to reach carbon neutrality, which translates into an annual demand of EUR 83 billion. PIE stresses it will be a huge challenge, and “at the current stage of development of the green finance market in Poland, it will be difficult to raise the necessary funds from the capital market”. The Institute also reminds that in Q2 of 2024, there were 61 green investment funds in Poland managing assets worth 10 billion PLN, and the growth in asset value of green investment funds in Poland was 88% compared to the second half of 2023.
Security
Filling Gaps in Defense
Poland, Germany, France, and Italy kicked off an initiative to develop ground-launched cruise missiles with a range beyond 500km. A memorandum of understanding was signed on the sidelines of the last NATO summit. The project should fill a gap in European defense exposed by Russia's war in Ukraine. A first draft document on the missile is expected to be published by the end of this year.
Polish defense minister Władysław Kosniak-Kamysz wrote on X: “The aim of the agreement is to forge cooperation that, in the future, will enable joint projects and shorten their implementation”. Kosiniak-Kamysz also announced that Poland will join Germany and 11 other states in a coalition to provide Ukraine with various types of drones, but the country will not participate in shooting down Russian missiles over Ukraine without a NATO decision. The latter was demanded by Kyiv, but the minister underlined that it must be the alliance’s decision, never a unilateral one”.
Culture
Great Actor, Wonderful Teacher
Actor Jerzy Stuhr passed away on July 9, after a long struggle with cancer. He was one of the most well-known and liked actors in Poland. He was famous for iconic roles in Polish cinema, e.g. "Amator," "Wodzirej", "Seksmisja", “Big Animal”, but also played frequently in Italian films, i.e. these directed by Nanni Moretti.
Besides film roles, he was active in the theater, both in other directors’ plays and his own plays. He also enjoyed film dubbing and his interpretation of the Donkey in Shrek has nearly cult status among the younger and the older generation.
Stuhr was born in Kraków in 1947. He studied Polish literature at the Jagiellonian University and acting at the State Higher School of Theatre in Kraków. He became a professor and rector at the Kraków Theatre School. His son, Maciej Stuhr, is one of the most popular actors of the middle generation.
During funeral ceremonies speaker of the Senate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska said that Stuhr was "a great actor, a wonderful teacher, an outstanding representative of the Polish intellectual elite, a friend, a social activist, and a wonderful person". Director Agnieszka Holland added that "From the beginning, he had a duality that was incredibly intriguing. On the one hand, he was deeply attached to Kraków conservatism. On the other, he was a jester, a comedian who didn't shy away from pleasures. This duality was reflected in his acting and various life roles".
Destruction of the Youngest Heritage Site
Alex’s Votum Chapel is located in the small town of Tarnów in the municipality of Wilga in the Mazovia region known as the youngest hertage site in Poland, was demolished. Legally.
The chapel is a work of Marta and Lech Rowiński of the Beton studio, who undertook to design a chapel for a private investor. The building, which was under construction in 2009-2011, is a small-scale wooden structure covered with shingles. In 2011, Alex's Votum was short-listed for the European Mies Van Den Rohe Prize. It became a symbol of eco-architecture and attracted tourists to the small village in Mazovia. It was never consecrated, so it did not function as a temple.
The building was entered in the register of monuments in 2022. Professor Jakub Lewicki, the then Mazovian Voivodeship Historic Preservation Officer, explained: “a work of a bygone era, as it is one of the last examples of wooden sacred architecture erected in the Polish lands for several hundred years and is a testimony to the very high artistic level of this architecture“.
The owner of the chapel died in 2021 and new owners of the property decided to appeal the preservation decision. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage overturned the decision of the conservator and announced that the building had not been added to the register. In 2024 the building disappeared…
See some pictures of the chapel here.
Economy
Widow’s Pension
Sejm has approved the law introducing the so-called widow's pension. The legislation originated from a civic initiative coordinated by a coalition of over 20 organizations including the Nationwide Trade Union Agreement (OPZZ), and was supported by more than 200.000 citizens.
The intention of the initiative was too amend the law on pensions and benefits from the Social Insurance Fund (ZUS), addressing financial needs of widowed citizens. The original idea was to grant widowed individuals to retain their current pension and increase it by 50% of their spouse's family pension, or to opt for the family pension and 50% of their own. Currently, a widowed person can either keep their own pension or switch to their deceased spouse’s family pension.
The civic initiative was endorsed by the Left and the draft legislation was piloted by the labor and social affairs minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk. Shortly before the final vote in the parliament it got strong support from prime minister Donald Tusk. "Adopting a positive stance on this citizen's proposal, and outlining realistic conditions for implementing this benefit, proves that we do not make empty promises", Dziemianowicz-Bąk said during a press conference with Tusk.
The final version of the bill states that from 1 July 2025, widowed citizens would be entitled to 100% of one pension and 15% of the other; from 1 January 2027, they would be entitled to 25% of the second pension, and in 2028 the government would assess the state budget and decide whether that can be increased to 50%. The bill was supported by almost all groups in the Sejm, with only exception of the far-right and libertarian Confederation.
Better Protection of Media against Big Tech
After long protests of over 350 media outlets, Sejm has passed an amendment to the copyright law. During the protest, media companies covered their print frontpages and online homepages with black posters saying “Politicians, don’t kill Polish media”, claiming that the implementation of the Digital Single Market Directive would allow Big Tech companies to use content they produce without payment and transfer profits abroad.
The amended bill secured royalties for creators and performers of audiovisual works, as well as those behind spoken-word and musical-literary creations, when their works are made available online. This decision has been welcomed by both authors and producers. The Senate has further amended the law to meet more demands of media outlets. According to the new proposal, media companies will get access to help from a state agency when negotiating with Big Techs over payments for their content.
International Affairs
Why Doesn't Orbán Create a Union with Putin?
During the annual Summer Free University in Băile Tuşnad, Romania, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán verbally attacked the West, and Poland in particular. He said: "Poles are conducting hypocritical policies. They criticize us for our relations with the Russians, and they themselves conduct business with Russia through intermediaries. I have never seen such hypocrisy on the part of the state". Hungarian PM also accused Poland of shifting the balance of power in Europe by weakening the significance of the Franco-German alliance in favor of the new one, the one of Poland, the UK and Ukraine with the Scandinavian and Nordic states.
The first one to react on the speech from Băile Tuşnad on the Polish side was deputy minister of foreign affairs Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski who stated that it is Orban’s policy that is anti-EU, anti-Ukrainian and anti-Polish. Bartoszewski stressed that Budapest is currently blocking EUR 467 million EU refund for Poland for military equipment transferred to Ukraine. “If you don’t want to be a member of a club, you can always leave”, Bartoszewski said, adding: "Why doesn't he create a Union with Putin and some authoritarian states of this type? It's like this: if you don't want to be a member of a club, you can always leave".
Hungarian MFA Péter Szijjártó responded to Bartoszewski on Facebook by saying: “For a long time we tolerated the provocations and hypocrisy of the current Polish government with the intention of preserving the Polish-Hungarian brotherhood, but we have had enough”.
Society
Largest Population Decline in the EU
In 2023, Poland experienced the largest population decline in the EU. According to Eurostat, Poland's population decreased by 132,8 thousand. The largest decline was recorded in Silesia (26.572 people), and the smallest in Mazovia (85 people). In cities, the record decline was observed in Łódź (6.429 people), followed by Bydgoszcz (3.604).
However, overall EU population increased for the second consecutive year, rising from 447, 6 million in January last year to 449,2 million in January this year. This change was driven by positive net migration, offsetting negative natural increase due to more deaths than births.
Poland & Germany
Steinmeier Asked for Forgiveness
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked the Polish people for forgiveness during observances marking the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, reminding Germans must never forget the immeasurable suffering inflicted on the neighboring nation. He also met with surviving veterans of the uprising.
Steinmeier was the second German president to be invited to speak on this important day of remembrance, after Roman Herzog in 1994.
80 years ago on 1 August 1944, after almost five years of terrible occupation, the Polish underground Home Army started a hopeless uprising against the Nazi occupation. It lasted 63 days. It was brutally crashed by the Wehrmacht and the SS, who committed some the worst massacres during the war. Ca. 200.000 people were killed and the city of Warsaw was caused nearly total destruction of the city.
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Barbara ‘Basia’ Sowa, the oldest insurgent died at the age of 106 on the day of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Warsaw Uprising. In 1940, she joined the Union of Armed Struggle, predecessor of the Home Army. During the German occupation, she participated in secret nursing courses and trained at the Infant Jesus Clinical Hospital in Warsaw. She was a nurse who helped participants of the Uprising.
New Connection over the Oder
A new rail bridge over the Oder opened to traffic. It connects Küstrin-Kietz in Germany with Kostrzyn in Poland. It is 260m long. The previous bridge from 1954 was closed in 2020 and demolished.
The new construction is double track, made of carbon fiber wires suspended from a steel arch. It costs EUR 65 million.
Polls & Trends
Party Support
IBRiS for Onet.pl, 24-24.07.2024
Civic Coalition 32,1%
PiS 29%
Confederation 11,9%
Third Way 10,5%
Left 8,7%
Nights without Alcohol
Are you in favor of the night alcohol shopping ban?
Yes 48,3%
No 33,9%
Undecided 17,8%
Such ban is already introduced in several Polish cities, e.g. Kraków, Katowice, Poznań, Wrocław, and Zakopane. In late August, Warsaw will decide on alcohol sales between 10pm and 6am.