Polish Consulate...

Christmas mood is everpresent – also in the weeklies, which carry lists of Christmas gift suggestions and report on the shopping frenzy. But there are also many articles focusing on the soul rather than flesh. Newsweek writes that contrary to what is often believed or suspected, religious attitudes of Poles are neither shallow nor manifested only on special occasions. Today Poles speak openly about their contacts with God and about such intimate affairs as prayer. SMG/KRC pollsters, who conducted a survey on how religious Polish people are, say that their questions were answered readily. People told them without much reservation how, when and where and what they pray for and when their prayers were answered. Clearly, this shows a change in approach to religion, with prayer becoming a part of daily life. Some analysts believe that this reflects the impact of new religious movements, popularizing the concept of creed as an integral part of and main reference point in life. Over 80 percent of Poles declare themselves as believers. Two thirds pray at least once a week, mainly for the welfare of their family and children. Money is seldom mentioned. Neither are Poles eager to pray for the church or the church hierarchy, Newsweek reports.

Still on religious note, the weekly Wprost writes that Polish-born Pope John II is more generous in beatifying his compatriots than all his predecessors. During the 26 years of his pontificate, one in ten new saints has been a Pole. The process is gaining momentum as the Polish church is preparing the beatification of some 200 persons. The Pope has been frequently criticized, especially in the West, for mass production of saints. True, out of some 7,000 catholic saints and blessed, almost 2,000 have been elevated to the altar by the present pontiff.

Solidarnosc, a weekly of the Solidarity trade union, slams the government’s special representative for equal rights of women and men for her recent statement blaming catholicism for violence in the family. Minister Magdalena Środa argued that she was misunderstood, but her critics demanded her dismissal. The premier decided that it would be enough to admonish Środa. Solidarnosc deplores the fact that her way of thinking is becoming increasingly popular in contemporary Europe. The most blatant example, it argues, was France’s determination not to include reference to Christianity in the European Constitution. The weekly also cites tolerance for the profanation of religious symbols in arts, jokes ridiculing Christians and it argues that the impact of feminist and gay ideologies creates a climate in which Christian attitudes are criticized.

Back to Christmas – Polityka writes that when shops are flooded with kitsch, it’s the sign that Christmas is approaching. Christmassy tights, chou-chou baby doll which can cry and imitate other life functions, a Christmas decoration with the face of George W. Bush, a plastic tomb candle in the shape of Santa Claus – everything with a Christmas flavor sells like hot cakes. This is especially true of Christmas lights. Unfortunately, writes Polityka, pulsating lights have become ubiquitous – from supermarkets to humble homes. For several years now, the Christmas season in Poland has differed from the non-Christmas time in that the former is full of madly blinking colorful lights.

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Poland Sends Humanitarian Aid Plane To Sri Lanka

Poland is sending humanitarian aid plane to Sri Lanka’s capital of Colombo today. It will include medications, bandages and drip liquid. The aid was compiled thanks to the contributions of the Polish government which has given 1 million zloty for the purchase of medicines and several Polish charity organizations. According to Elżbieta Lipska from the Polish Humanitarian Mission, Poland decided to send aid to Sri Lanka specifically because there were concrete request for help coming from that country. she added that Sri Lanka is one of the poorest country in the region with second biggest number of tsunami victims. So far confirmed deaths from Asia's tsunami catastrophe have pushed past 100,000, with experts predicting much worse to come as the world's biggest ever relief operation stuttered into life against enormous odds.

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Strong Zloty Allows Poland To Cut Rates

Poland’s central bank can lower interest rates without loosening monetary screws because the zloty is appreciating, the chief presidential economic adviser Witold Orłowski said. "Currency appreciation is a great substitute for interest rate increases," Witold Orlowski told private radio PiN. "If we want to maintain the restrictiveness of monetary policy, then in response to a strong currency we should lower interest rates. The central bank) should consider this." Orlowski also said he expects the zloty to stabilise around 3.8 versus the euro by mid-2005. The zloty has gained 18 percent against the euro and more than a third to the dollar since Poland's European Union entry in May, helped by the robust economic growth, narrowing budget deficit and relatively high interest rates. "This change (appreciation) was too rapid," he said. Orlowski expects strong economic growth to curb Poland's unemployment rate to about 17 percent by the end of next year from nearly 19 percent now. He added that Poland's "normal", or structural, unemployment rate stood around 12 percent, as much of the work force in the largest post-communist state in the EU was not equipped with skills needed to find jobs.

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Speaker of Parliament Resigns

The new leader of Poland's ruling left announced he was ready to resign as parliamentary speaker following an unfavorable ruling by a vetting court. Jozef Oleksy was chosen two weeks ago to lead the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) out of a popularity slump and into next year's elections but a court ruled last week he had worked for communist-era secret services, dealing the party a further blow. Since the verdict, the right-wing opposition has threatened to vote out Oleksy unless he resigned, piling pressure on the SLD to find his successor. "I am ready (to resign) on condition that there will be a smooth change of parliamentary leadership," Oleksy told a news conference after meeting SLD leaders The candidate for the position of Sejm Speaker has to be a member of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and have the support of at least half of the parliament. Until this requirement is met, Józef Oleksy will not pass through a motion in the Sejm to dismiss himself from the post. Earlier a senior SLD official said that Oleksy's replacement should be found by the next parliamentary sitting on Jan. 5.Polish media have tipped Interior Minister Ryszard Kalisz, SLD deputy chief Katarzyna Piekarska and Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz as Oleksy's potential successors but none of the candidates have so far confirmed their interest

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Poland's aid for Asia disaster victims

Warsaw, Dec. 28: PM Marek Belka decided that Polish non-governmental organisations will get one million zlotys from budget reserve to buy medicines, tents, sleeping bags and blankets for victims of the Asian tsunami disaster. Part of the funds will be given to the Indonesian Red Cross Association. Non-governmental organisations will raise funds, and will send a plane with 7 tons of medical supplies, blankets etc for tsunami victims. Such decisions were taken during a meeting of NGOs representatives. Lublin metropolitan archbishop Jozef Zycinski appealed to the congregation for aid for Asia disaster victims. Donations will be collected in all churches of the Lublin archdiocese.

Four Poles probably killed in Thailand

Warsaw, Dec. 28: Four Poles were probably killed in Thailand and at least 28 remain missing after the tsunami disaster. According to foreign ministry spokesman Aleksander Checko, several hundred Poles may have been in the quake-hit region. The ministry is trying to obtain information from German travel agencies on Polish tourists. Checko said that bad news can be expected from Sri Lanka where no clear estimates of casualties are available. "We know that at least 15 people could have been in Sri Lanka that we know nothing about," he said. Reassuring news came form Indonesia, Malesia and India. "Our diplomats have not heard any bad news about Polish citizens in these countries," the spokesman said. Poland's ambassador in Bangkok Bogdan Goralczyk is due to release more details on the Polish tsunami disaster victims on December, 29.

Warsaw, Dec. 28: Spokesman of the Social Democracy of Poland (SdPl) caucus Arkadiusz Kasznia told that according to the SdPl Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz would be an ideal candidate for the Sejm speaker to lead parliament from the present impasse. Kasznia declined to say whether SdPl consulted Cimoszewicz on the matter. According to SLD Secretary General Marek Dyduch the party's National Board is the only body authorised to name the SLD candidate for the post of Sejm speaker if to-date speaker Jozef Oleksy resigns. The SLD National Council is meeting to elect the new national board. Apart from Cimoszewicz also SLD deputy leader Katarzyna Piekarska, Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration (MSWiA) Ryszard Kalisz and caucus secretary Waclaw Martyniuk are mentioned as possible SLD candidates. Also Sejm deputy Speaker Tomasz Nalecz expressed the conviction that after the expected resignation of Oleksy from the post the candidate for the Sejm speaker should emerge from SLD caucus as the biggest grouping in the chamber. The SLD National Council is also to discuss problems connected with the setting up of the Social Democratic Future Platform as proposed at the recent third SLD Congress, spokesman Bronislaw Cieslak said.

Divanyah, Dec. 28: Around 70 Polish soldiers in Camp Echo in Divanyah, Iraq, connected with their families in Poland via videolink, which enabled both sides to see one another. This involves visual contact so it's different than telephoning or connecting online, said major Zbigniew Muszynski from the Multinational Central-South Stabilization Force. I speak with my wife every day but I want to see her, said one of the soldiers waiting for his turn at the videolink. The videolink was provided by the Polish Military General Staff.

Warsaw, Dec. 28: A plane with humanitarian assistance to Darfur region in Sudan will leave the airport in Minsk Mazowiecki. The mission is carried out by the foreign ministry jointly with the defence ministry and the Polish Humanitarian Action PAH. "It is sort of a reconnaissance flight. We want to learn about the needs. We have asked for licence for money raising and we hope we will be able to collect enough funds to return to Sudan independently to provide further assistance," Justyna Stepien of PAH told. The plane will carry 64.5 thousand USD worth of medical equipment, 8 tents, 80 camp beds, tables and chairs as well as 810 blankets and plastic floors. Gifts, bought from means of the foreign ministry for development and humanitarian assistance will be conveyed to SUDO. Fighting in Darfur has killed 70,000 people and driven 1.8 million from their homes.

Gdansk, Dec. 28: Ex-president and Solidarity icon Lech Walesa and the city authorities of Gdansk will invite world-renowned architects to design a future European Solidarity Centre in the city. Among the invited architects are Santiago Calatrava, author of New York's new World Trade Center, Norman Foster, co-designer of the new WTC and author of the new Reichstag building in Berlin and Hans Hollein, designer of the European Volcanic Park in Auvergne in France. The centre, to include a museum, a library, an exhibition room, conference rooms, a hotel and a shopping mall, is to stand in the Gdansk Shipyard, cradle of the Solidarity movement that sparked off the fall of communism in eastern Europe.

Bielsko-Biala, Dec. 28: Spokesman for former Nazi death camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau Jaroslaw Mensfelt said that in 2004 the museum was visited by close to 600,000 people against some 400,000 visitors in 2001. "This was the record number of visitors in several years. Such big figure was reported only between 1995 and 1998 when the museum was visited by some 500,000 people," Mensfelt said. Mensfelt added the number has gone up owing to foreign visitors and Polish youth. He attributed the growing interest in the history of Auschwitz to Poland's accession to the EU, general growth in the number of tourists coming to Poland, the opening of low cost airlines and the introduction of teaching on the Holocaust into school curricula.

Bielsko-Biala, Dec. 28: 140 photographs showing the everyday life of Jews in pre-war Wadowice by Cracow, hometown of pope John Paul II, are on show at the Galizien Museum in Cracow devoted to the region's Jews. The pictures were taken by British photographer Chris Schwarz, who spent 12 years travelling through the Galizien region in search of Jewish traces. Schwarz said he came to Wadowice inspired by the pope's childhood reminiscences of its mixed Polish-Jewish community life. The pope often recalled how he played soccer with local Jewish children, he also said many positive and warm words about Christians and Jews living peacefully side by side, Schwarz told. Wadowice's first Jewish inhabitant was Baruch Thieberg, who settled there in 1867. Today the city holds few traces of its former Jewish population. The Galizien Museum was opened by Schwarz in Cracow's Kazimierz district - a former Jewish quarter - last June.

Warsaw, Dec. 28: British historian Norman Davies is to write another book about the Warsaw Rising 1944, this time about the backstage politics behind the plans of the rising. The book “How the Rising Was Made” will appear in August 2005, the publishing house Znak which is to publish the book has told. On August 1, 2004, the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Rising bookstores in Poland offered Norman Davies bestseller "Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw". By this December the book sold in 107,461 copies in this country, and a soft-cover edition is planned for the coming year.

Szczecin, Dec. 28: Polish fishermen may launch protests against EC-imposed haul limits on the Baltic. On December 22 the Commission imposed a 13,000-ton limit on cod hauls, cutting Poland's to-date quota by 3,000 tons. Fishing Operator Association president Bogdan Waniewski said Polish fishermen felt "cheated by the EU and betrayed by the Polish government". Waniewski disclosed no details of the planned protests.

Warsaw, Dec. 28: A government made up of wise people was the most frequent New Year wish in a Pentor poll (42 percent). Out of those polled 38 percent wished for no unemployment, 16 percent for no poverty, 13 percent for safer streets, 8 percent for Divine providence. Pentor ran the survey on December 18-19 on a random group of 1,000 Poles above 15.

Warsaw, Dec. 28: Public moods in Poland are improving with each year, only 52 percent of respondents in a 2004 CBOS survey claiming to have frequently experienced negative emotions like anger or irritation during this year (56 pct in 2003, 2001 and 1996, 70 pct in 1989 and 72 pct in 1988). Also less pollees than in previous years (36 percent) declared to have felt exhaustion or disencouragement (38 pct in 2003, 41 pct in 1996, 62 pct in 1991, 55 pct in 1988), 25 percent said they often felt deep anger (41 pct in 1989). 45 percent declared contentment with their lives (45 pct in 2003, 21 pct in 1991, 34 pct in 1988). 6 percent said they believed the situation in the country would improve in coming years (4 pct in 2003, 2 pct in 1988). CBOS ran the poll on December 3-4 of this year. Similar surveys have been carried out annually since 1988.

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Sylvester: eating, drinking and being merry - Polish style

Letter from Poland
From Radio Polonia

Overindulging yourself is very much part of the New Year’s celebrations in Poland, as it is everywhere else. But even the legends associated with the New Year here involve overindulgence – in this case, the overindulgence of a dragon.

In Poland, New Year’s Eve is called St Sylvester’s Eve – or more simply, Sylvester. The name comes from Pope Sylvester I, who, says the legend, imprisoned a dragon known to his friends as the Leviathan. On New Year’s Day, 1000 AD, the dragon was to be given his freedom. Good news for the dragon, but bad news for everyone else. On this day, it was believed, the dragon would proceed to gobble up not only all the people of the land, but even the land itself. And when he had finished his mighty meal the Leviathan would then set alight to the heavens.

Luckily for all, New Year’s Eve came and went, but the dragon was nowhere to be seen. So great rejoicing, and singing and dancing (and drinking too much) ensued throughout the land. And from that day to this, the last day of the year has been named after St. Sylvester.

Fast forward a few hundred years and we see New Year’s celebrations as one of the favourites of the communists in Poland. New Year didn’t have all those awkward connotations with religion, as Christmas has (or did). The central celebration for the commies was a grand ball on New Year’s Eve at the Congress Hall, where the party hacks could be seen dancing the night away in inebriated fashion with their equally inebriated party hack wives.

Many of the young, in the meantime, would head for the mountains, where they would dance the night away in an equally inebriated fashion.

The one exception to this rule was the New Year’s Eve after the declaration of martial law in December 1981, where the curfew imposed by General Jaruzelski ruined many planned celebrations.

And here’s a piece of trivia you might not know: The song ‘New Year’s Day’ by the Irish group U2 was inspired by the martial law period in Poland. If you look at the lyrics then the references to Poland at that time are pretty vague. The clearest reference comes in the second verse, when Bono sings:

Under a blood red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers says,
Say it's true…
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one…etc

Martial law, by way of coincidence, came to an end on New Year’s Day, 1983.

Good news for the devout in Poland this year: the Roman catholic church has said that, even though New Year’s Eve falls on a Friday – a day usually associated by Catholics as a day with penance and abstinence - it’s OK to party and have a good time.

So its official – its all systems go for a little overindulgence this year. But what to do once you have taken your car to the party? Stay sober? Drink a couple of non-alcoholic beers while your friends gradually drink themselves under the table? Or maybe, join your friends under the table, take a taxi home and then come and get the car the next morning?

Well there is an alternative. Sort of. A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine was given a telephone number to a kind of taxi service where they send two drivers out to you. One takes you home in the taxi. The other driver drives your car home. So, this means that you can now drink and drive.

Now, I am suspicious over the legality of all this. What about small matters such as insurance for the other driver? What if the other driver is drunk as well and gets stopped by the cops?

Anyway, my friend decided to try out this option when she went to one of the ubiquitous Christmas office parties at this time of the year. And all went to plan. She ordered the ‘taxi’; they came and drove her and her car home.

My friend awoke on the morning after the night before bleary eyed and fuzzy in head, looked out the window and there was her car. Fine. It was about 8 O’clock in the morning and she had to go to work. When she got down to her car, the windows were thick with frost. So she opened the car door, and, with her feet still outside the car, she turned on the ignition to get some heat onto the windscreens to clear the frost. Suddenly, the car left into life and started to travel down the drive, heading for a tree. With legs in the car and body in it, and with a Christmas party hangover, she wondered, quite reasonably, what the hell was going on? The car stopped when it collided with a tree, and my friend now has a nasty gash on her shin, where the car door slammed shut on her legs.

What actually happened was that the driver who took her car home the night before had left the car in first gear, but without putting the hand break on. So when she turned on the ignition the car thought it was time to start driving down the road.

So maybe it is wiser to leave the car at home this year – even if you do live in Warsaw, or you are a dragon named Leviathan.

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Polish President Slams Putin

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski has said an attack on him by Russian President Vladimir Putin was "unfair", BBC News reports. Mr Putin suggested that Poland was working with the West to isolate Russia, after the election crisis in Ukraine. Mr Kwasniewski mediated in the crisis, helping to organise roundtable talks. "The words said by Putin, in my opinion, are unfair words, a price that Poland and I must pay for our involvement in... Ukraine," he said. 'I expected my engagement in Ukraine to bring a reaction, and it did Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said. He made it clear Mr Putin had misinterpreted his words.

"We are happy that a democratic Russia and a democratic Ukraine are such active members of the modern world, and I believe it will stay like this," he added, underlining his great respect for Mr Putin.

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Would carp vote for Christmas?

Question: Would a turkey vote for Christmas? If the world’s population of turkeys got together and organized a referendum on Christmas, how would they vote? Well, they would vote ‘No’ of course, I hear you cry.

But things are not so simple as all that. In Poland, and much of central and eastern Europe, on hearing that a No vote was the result of our poultry referendum, turkeys here might just call for a recount. They might even ask for adjudication by the United Nations Electoral Supervisory Commission.

Turkeys in Poland would vote ‘Yes’ for Christmas by a landslide.

This is because Christmas dinner tables around these parts do not groan under the weight of a 10-kilogramme bird stuffed with horse chestnuts and sage. Christmas tables in Poland groan under the weight of (traditionally) twelve different dishes, the centrepiece of which is a carp.

They eat the Christmas carp in many different ways. You can bake it, steam it, fry it. You can stew it in beer and raisons, have it accompanied with a sweet and sour source, stuff it with almonds, or even have it (yum, yum!) jellied in aspic.

Not really my cup of tea, but most Poles just love the Christmas carp. Total production of farmed carp in Poland amounts to around 22,000 tons annually, most of which is consumed at this time of the year.

The best way to buy your carp (say fishy aficionados) is alive and kicking and swimming around a small tank at your local grocers. The fish is then taken home, and, quite often, kept in the bath until it has to be cooked.

The problem then comes, of course, when you have to kill the wriggling, slimy little beast. The best method, I am assured, is by a quick and accurate whack over the head with a small hammer. But not everyone can face this most brutal of tasks. It’s the man’s job, traditionally. But not all men are man enough to get hold of a fish that is as determined to see what’s in its Christmas stocking as the rest of us, haul it out of its watery Death Row, and put an end to its misery.

So many try to find novel ways of doing the deed. Getting drunk before you have to is, understandably, one of the favourites. Another way is to not drink the vodka yourself, but give a bottle of it to the fish – that way at least the poor thing will die with a smile on its face.

I have even heard of one traumatised carp killer who decided that he was not going to bash it over the head after all, but electrocute it. This bought him more than he bargained for when, after putting a steam iron plugged into the shaving socket into the bath with the carp, the whole of the block of flats where he was living was plunged into darkness.

But concern is growing among ecologists and fishy freedom fighters about the treatment of carp during the Christmas period. An organisation called Gaja has been organising marches in Poland in protest at, what they say, is the cruel and barbaric conditions in which the carp are reared, transported and killed. Gaja (known to their friends, possibly, as the Carp Liberation Front) have been buying up lots of these fish from supermarkets and then liberating them back into rivers.

But a carp in the bath can have positive consequences. A British man I know lives in London but is married to a Polish woman. A few years ago they came over to stay with their Polish in-laws for the Christmas holiday. It was the morning of Christmas Eve when they decided to stay in bed and have a bit of yuletide rumpy-pumpy. Being a good catholic girl they used so-called ‘natural methods’ of contraception – which involved, among other things, the wife getting up after they had finished and going to wash in the bathroom. Of course, when she got to the bathroom she was confronted by the carp swimming away merrily in the bath. But what to do? She couldn’t get in the bath with the carp – modesty forbid! So she just returned to her husband in bed, unwashed. Nine months later a little baby girl was born.

So, as I go into the grocery stores on the run up to Christmastime I’m always looking into the large vats they have full of carp swimming around waiting for there own little private year zeros and I think of that little girl.

But I swear that this year one carp caught my eye. It was trying to tell me something. It was saying that it was not looking forward to Christmas in Poland, would not have voted for it if it had been asked, and wished, just wished, that it were a turkey.

Merry Christmas to everyone from Letter from Poland – including Polish carp

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West-leaning opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko took an unassailable lead in Ukraine's re-run presidential election, pledging an end to corruption and drift for the former Soviet republic, Reuters agency reports. He wants to align Ukraine, its economic potential squandered by years of mismanagement, with central and western Europe, fanning concerns in neighboring Russia that it will lose influence over a region where it held sway for 300 years. Poland has been instrumental in supporting Ukrainian democracy since Kiev declared independence from Moscow in 1991. During the election crisis, it sent the biggest number of independent observers there. Michal Kubicki reports.

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If you are Polish and learning the English language then test your pronunciation by reading the following passage out aloud:-

"A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

rough as in "puff", in dough as in "oh", in thoughtful as in "port", in ploughman as in "thou", in through as in "too", in Scarborough as in "curragh", in slough as in "buff", and in hiccoughed as in "cupped".

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President receives Sejm Speaker

Warsaw, Dec. 20: President Aleksander Kwasniewski received Sejm Speaker Jozef Oleksy. President Kwasniewski congratulated Oleksy on his election as head of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). Jozef Oleksy briefed the president on the course of the weekend SLD congress and the most important decisions passed by delegates. Kwasniewski stressed the need for the existence of a strong pro-European left-wing on the Polish political scene. Sides also discussed the 2005 budget law and legislative plans of the Sejm which, according to the president, should make it easier for Poland to receive EU funds supporting regional development. The two referred to next year's parliamentary and presidential elections. President Kwasniewski stressed the need of the efficient functioning of parliament to the very end of its term.

President conveys Christmas, New Year wishes to armed forces

Bydgoszcz, Dec. 20: President Aleksander Kwasniewski wished Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year representatives of military circles in Bydgoszcz, north-western Poland. The wishes were transmitted via satellite to staffers and patients of a hospital in Karbala, Iraq. Earlier the president visited the 10th Military Clinic from where he conveyed wishes to the 52-strong staff of a hospital in Karbala and to four wounded in a recent chopper crash in Iraq. The president visited No. 2 Military Aviation Plant that mostly deals with plane overhauls and the testing ground of the 1st Pomerania Logistic Brigade.

Warsaw, Dec. 20: PM Marek Belka will leave for the Balkans with a two-day visit on December 21 to take part in a pre-Christmas meeting with soldiers of the Polish Military Contingent. The PM will be accompanied by Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski, Minister, Head of the PM's Chancellery Slawomir Cytrycki and spokesman for the government Undersecretary of State Dariusz Jadowski.

Bialystok, Dec. 20: Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said that Poland's position on Ukraine is now treated by other countries as a "voice of the highest level of credibility." "Facts proved that we are right," Cimoszewicz told. He said that democratic election in Ukraine would offer Poland a chance to take new initiatives for Ukraine in NATO and the EU. He said he expected the repeat vote in Ukraine will be honest and credible.

Bialystok, Dec. 20: Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz told that he was getting increasingly disappointed with the Democratic Left Alliance SLD and was mulling resignation from party membership. Cimoszewicz, who belongs to the SLD but was not a delegate to the party congress held over the weekend said the congress failed to analyse reasons behind bad political situation of the Polish left-wing and draw appropriate conclusions, instead it centred on personnel issues. He explained the present SLD situation reminded him about the situation of Solidarity Election Action AWS four years ago. He congratulated Oleksy on being elected the SLD leader and added that the change at the post was of secondary importance as the congress failed to improve the situation of the SLD.

Warsaw, Dec. 20: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Republic of South Africa, Brazil and Mexico are shortlisted as top priority states of the Polish foreign policy vis-a-vis non-European developing countries, deputy Foreign Minister Boguslaw Zaleski said while presenting the government foreign policy adopted on November 30. Zaleski explained that Poland's foreign policy in the past 15 years was dominated by gaining NATO and EU memberships. Once these goals were achieved the time has come to attach greater importance to Asia, Africa and South America. This is all the more justified that these continents' share in Poland's foreign trade turnover was higher in the 1970-ties and 1980-ties than it is at present. Besides, the downward trend in the foreign turnover has also been caused by shifting the weight of foreign trade exchange to western Europe. The share of developing countries in global foreign trade turnover fell from 6.3 percent in 2000 to 5.3 percent in the first half of 2004. The document approved by the government reads that efficient price competition of products from developing countries is one of the barriers hampering the equilibrium between exports and imports. It is not strange that imports from these countries are on the rise (from 10.6 percent in 2000 to 12.5 percent in 2003 and 14 percent in the 1st half of 2004). Presenting the document Zaleski said that China was Poland's biggest partner in Asia. He firmly denied allegations that Poland flippantly treated human rights violations in China. With no mention on human rights violation in China included in the document at the same time the document made dependant Poland's cooperation with Iran on the latter country nuclear programme and Iranian foreign policy.

Warsaw, Dec. 20: The UN has asked Poland to examine the possibility of sending observers to Sudan, deputy Foreign Minister Boguslaw Zaleski told. The minister explained that the decision has not been made yet but he doubted whether Poland could afford a successive mission. I can't imagine that we could possibly afford the further enlargement of our mission as observers adding Sudan to Afghanistan, Balkans, Caucasus and Iraq not to mention the Golan Hights and Lebanon," Zaleski said. He explained that Jan Natkanski, who started a diplomatic mission to Khartoum in December will service Sudan from Cairo, where he is is Poland's ambassador.

Brussels, Dec. 20: The European Commission has officially urged Poland to rectify incorrect applications of VAT rules for exempting certain Internet access services that should be taxed, which means that Poland will have to adjust its VAT rate on Internet access services to respective EU regulations, that is the

basis rate of 22 percent. The request takes the form of a reasoned opinion, and is part of the infringement procedure opened in July 2004. The request is a formality as Poland has already adjusted its law to the regulations. The Sejm passed an amended bill on VAT on Internet services last week. In line with the EU legislation, as of March 1, 2005 Internet access services will not be exempted from VAT, and will carry a VAT rate of 22 percent. The services have been exempted from the tax since the start of 2004. The government wants Brussels to allow Poland to apply a reduced VAT rate on services consisting of providing Internet access to students, schools and public cultural institutions.

Warsaw, Dec. 20: Troops of the elite GROM special forces unit completed their mission in Iraq, spokesman for the General Staff of the Polish Army colonel Zdzislaw Gnatowski said. Gnatowski revealed that during their stay in Iraq GROM troops conducted over 200 direct operations during which they arrested a few hundred terror suspects, including a few people from Saddam Hussein's closest collaborators. In the recent years GROM took part in numerous foreign missions worldwide. In December 2004 GROM soldiers completed their mission within the Iraqi Freedom operation started in March 2003. From March 2002 to April 2004 GROM took part in the Enduring Freedom operation in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.

Cracow, Dec. 20: According to deputy PM and Economy Minister Jerzy Hausner in the 4rd quarter of 2004 Poland's economy will grow by around 5 percent, and in the entire year by 5.5-5.7 percent. Hausner said that the November industrial production data are good and confirm the high dynamics of the Polish economy. Asked about a forecast for 2005 Hausner said Poland's economy would grow by 5 percent. The Central Statistical Office (GUS) said last week that in November 2004 industrial production went up by 11.3 percent year-on-year, after a 3.5-percent growth in October, and went down 1.1 percent month-on-month.

Cracow, Dec.20: The combined value of financing under the National Development Plan (NPR) for the years 2007 to 2013 can reach ca. 160 bn USD, according to deputy PM Jerzy Hausner. Poland had never had comparable means to finance its development, neither would such a situation repeat itself in future, he stressed. The total represented financing from the EU, Polish co-financing and private investments, Hausner explained. The cabinet will adopt a preliminary draft of the NPR on January 11, and a national debate on the draft will start Jan.20, Hausner revealed. Hausner would like the debate to be as open as possible, involving numerous communities such as local government activists, bussinesmen, NGOs, universities and students and men of culture and the arts. After the debate, to last till next May, the next cabinet will continue work on the draft and formulate the final version, Hausner said. The debate should not focus on how to distribute the money, but on the future shape of Poland and its presence in the EU, the minister emphasized. For the NPR to be successfully implemented Poland's economy should grow at a pace of 5 pc or more for at least 10 years, Hausner noted. Also necessary were institutional changes adjusted to the future shape of local government system. "If Poland maintains a high pace of growth and puts its EU membership to good use the country stands a chance of joining the core of the EU," Hausner predicted.

Warsaw, Dec. 20: The Bank Supervision Commission concluded an agreement with the German bank supervision (Bundesanstalt fuer Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht). This is the first agreement concluded by the Polish bank supervision with the supervision of a member state of the euro zone. The agreement defines cooperation principles between the Polish and German supervision, in particular the principles of the exchange of information in supervised banks and inspections conducted in them. The agreement will enable joint inspections by the two countries' supervisors in subsidiary banks seated on the territory of the other country.

Warsaw, Dec. 20: The Monetary Policy Council (RPP) will consider changing a bias in monetary policy in the second quarter of 2005 if inflation expectations fall, RPP's Dariusz Filar said. "If in May and June inflation expectations begin to fall, this will be the time to consider changing bias," Filar said. "It follows from analyses that we will get close to 3 percent or event below 3 percent around mid-year in 2005," Filar said. "In December inflation will be at the level close to that in November," he added. In November inflation rose 4.5 percent year-on-year.

Belchatow, Dec. 10: A new 833 MW power unit will be built in the Belchatow power plant by 2009. A contract worth over 830 million euros was signed in Belchatow. The unit will be built by the French Alstom concern. Head of the plant Edward Najgebauer said that the new unit would allow to keep brown coal output at today's level and meet environment protection norms. "This will be the biggest power unit in Poland. It is an important event for the whole Polish power sector since it has been one of the biggest investments in our power sector in recent years. We want work to begin in the 3rd quarter of 2005," Najgebauer said. He added that the Belchatow power plant is in talks on the funding of the undertaking with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank and commercial banks.

Szczecin, Dec. 20: The Nowa Shipyard in Szczecin (SNN) has begun the construction of the first of six new-generation ships for a Dutch shipowner. The ship, a 205-metre long and 25.5-metre wide multi-purpose vessel, will be equipped to freight cars, containers, paper and dangerous materials, including nuclear waste. The yard's current portfolio covers 39 ships.

Rome, Dec. 21: Bishop Renato Boccardo, the trip organiser and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, did not rule out that Pope John Paul II would come to Poland next year. The bishop also mentioned Ireland as the second country the pope might visit in 2005. There have been no dates settled yet. The only trip that has been confirmed is a visit to Cologne to attend the World Youth Day, the bishop told a conference organised by the Union of Italian Catholic Press. Poland's primate cardinal Jozef Glemp said it would be great if the pope could attend the ceremony of inaugurating the sanctuary which is now being built in Warsaw.

Warsaw, Dec. 20: Seventeen percent of Poles supported Marek Belka's government at the beginning of this December, which was three percentage points down from November. A poll run by the CBOS early in December also showed that 28 percent (down one percentage point) opposed the present government. Support for the PM went down 3 percentage point since November and the number of his opponents went up 5 percentage points. Support for the present government is the lowest since it was formed. In June this year 18 percent of Poles were pleased with Belka's cabinet. According to 23 percent of those polled the economic policy of Belka's government created chances for an improvement in the economic situation in the country. In November similar opinion was expressed by 25 percent. At present 53 percent (up 2 percentage points) think the opposite. The poll was conducted between December 3 and 6 on a representatives sample of 973 adult Poles.

Warsaw, Dec. 20: If parliamentary elections were held in December the Citizens' Platform (PO) would win them with 21 percent of votes, down 4 percentage points from November, according to a recent poll run by the PGB public opinion polling centre. It would be followed by Law and Justice (PiS) supported by 17 percent of Poles (up 1 percentage point from November). Next came the League of Polish Families (LPR) supported by 13 percent (unchanged), Samoobrona by 12 percent (down 1 percentage point), the Social Democracy of Poland (SdPl) by 11 percent (up 4 percentage points), the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) with a 6-percent support (unchanged) and the Polish Peasant Party (PSL) supported by 5 percent (down 2 percentage points). The Freedom Union, the Pensioners' Party, the Centre, the Union of Labour-the Union of the left would fail to win seats in the Sejm because the parties fell short of the five percent of the vote required for parliamentary representation. PGB ran the poll from December 11 to 14 on a representative sample of 1,019 adult Poles.

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For £30, you'll get a toy goat and information pack to give to someone you love. Even better, your gift will also give an African farming family a real goat - and with it the chance to build a better life for themselves. It's the perfect gift for people who care - whatever their age.

posted by: Oborski at 18:29 | link | comments |

PM, Foreign minister: Poland satisfied with EU summit outcome

Brussels, Dec. 19: Poland is satisfied with the outcome of the Friday EU summit, namely with the decision on opening accession talks with Turkey, projected more intensive cooperation with Ukraine and EU budget for 2007-2013. PM Marek Belka said that accession talk with Turkey create a big chance and a huge challenge. Speaking about the chance he said he though about the huge Turkish market and dynamically developing Polish exports to Turkey that only this year rose by 138 pct. Challenges included, in his opinion, the fact that admitting Turkey the EU would have to change its internal organisation and decision-making process. Belka also praised the EU for quick reaction to Ukraine and its problem despite the fact that the adopted declaration did not promise Ukraine a EU membership. According to Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz Poland managed to persuade its EU partners to include in the budget for 2007-2013 entries positive for the country. "New financial perspective should secure proper financial means necessary for meeting future challenges stemming from differences in the development level of countries of the enlarged EU," according to an excerpt from the part negotiated by Poland. The foreign minister said it was enough for the EU to treat Polish backward regions on preferential terms.

PM Belka predicts stable economic growth

Warsaw, Dec. 19: PM Marek Belka told the 3rd Congress of the Democratic Left Alliance SLD that Poland was on the path of a stable 5 percent economic growth and urged the delegates to set the date of next year's parliamentary elections. "We have heard a number of declarations about early elections, even proposals to hold them this spring," he said and added it would not be good to renounce the declarations. The date of elections would, according to Belka, help organise the political scene and agenda for coming months. The PM believes his government was a successful one with a visible prospect for a decrease of public debt and putting in order the situation in health care as well as entering the path of a stable, 5 percent economic growth. He underlined the need for boosting Poles' professional activity and warned negligence in this field may seriously threaten Poland's development.

Brussels, Dec. 17: Polish and Spanish PM’s Marek Belka and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero decided that the 2nd Polish-Spanish consultations would be held on February 9, 2005. The two PM’s held a 20-minute meeting in Brussels. The 2nd Polish-Spanish consultations were planned to take place in Warsaw on December 14 but PM Zapatero called off his visit to Warsaw because of hearings in the Spanish parliament. Zapatero was questioned on the circumstances of terrorist attacks in Madrid that took place March 11. Following the meeting with Belka, Zapatero assured journalists that Polish-Spanish relations were very good and not at all marred by the postponement of the bilateral summit. He added that the 30-minute meeting with his Polish counterpart was very cordial. Talks focused on items on the agenda of the EU summit and in particular on financial prospects.

Warsaw, Dec. 17: PM Marek Belka has been granted the Chair of the Year award for 2004 by the "The Warsaw Voice" English language weekly published in Warsaw, according to Andrzej Jonas its editor in chief. Jonas wrote that professor Belka, an industrious and conscientious scholar, has entered the world of politics not for the joy of power, but because he knows economy rules and knows what the government should be doing to keep the economy developing in the right direction. The weekly grants the Chair of the Year annually to the person (or thing) who has had the greatest influence on the lives of Poles in a given year. In the past years, the first Chair of the Year went to Lech Walesa in 1989. Other laureates included, among others, Leszek Balcerowicz, the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Bronislaw Geremek, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Adam Malysz and Danuta Huebner.

Warsaw, Dec. 17: Medical equipment worth 64.6 thousand USD was conveyed to Iraqi Ambassador to Poland Valid Hamid Shiltagh by deputy Foreign Minister Boguslaw Zaleski. Equipment for gastroscopy, endoscopy and rehabilitation, collected by the Polish Medical Mission will be sent to a general hospital in Al Hashimiyah in the province of Babylon in Iraq. The equipment will be serviced by six Iraqi doctors now trained in Poland. The Polish Medical Mission, the association of doctors, nurses and paramedics has been helping the hospital in Al-Hashimiyah for more than a year. In 2004 it got a special subsidy for the purpose from the foreign ministry. So far the Polish Medical Mission has sent to the Iraqi hospital medicines and an oxygen installation.

Warsaw, Dec. 17: Finance Minister Miroslaw Gronicki told the Council for Socio-Economic Strategy that Poland's economic development would hinge on the country's ability to absorb EU funds. The Council discussed macroeconomic predictions as basis for medium-term economic strategies. The discussion centred on predictions for 2005-2013 worked out by independent research centres and experts, the banking sector and the Economic Council of the Four with all cautiously predicting further economic revival. It was said that the implementation of the optimistic development scenario will hinge on the overall reform of public finances, competition-promoting policy, corruption fighting, stable laws including predictable changes to legal regulations and taxes as well as investment growth, ability to absorb imported advanced technologies and the growth of Poland's foreign trade.

Vilnius, Dec. 17: Senate Speaker Longin Pastusiak was decorated with a high Lithuanian distinction for contributions in the development of Polish-Lithuanian relations and assistance in Lithuanian strivings for joining the NATO and EU. "Lithuania not only lies close to Poland but is also close to my heart," Pastusiak said while receiving the distinction from President of the Lithuania Parliament Arturas Paulauskas. The Senate speaker, who paid a one day visit to Vilnius at the invitation of the Union of Lithuanian Poles met with Paulauskas to discuss problems of the Polish Lithuanian community, including the recognition by the Lithuanian side of Polish names, lack of strategy for the development of Polish education and delayed restitution of land that belonged to Poles before WW2 as well as the prolongation of an agreement on broadcasting TV Polonia in Lithuania. Earlier he met with representatives of the Polish community in Lithuania and visited the Polish cemetery in Vilnius.

Warsaw, Dec. 17: Turkey may join the EU only after it fulfils all requirements, according to leader of the Social Democracy of Poland SdPl Marek Borowski. He believes that EU negotiations with Turkey will create a chance for an understanding between the Christian and Muslim worlds. All politicians said negotiations with Turkey will be dominated by issues related to the observance of human rights while economic affairs will be of secondary importance. Kazimierz Michal Ujazdowski of the Law and Justice PiS told that negotiations with Turkey will divert the EU attention from Ukraine which should be admitted earlier. According to head of the Citizens' Platform PO parliamentary floor group Jan Rokita Ukraine may be admitted in 10-15 years while Turkey should join the EU as soon as possible as a related decision will strengthen European solidarity. Rokita said Turkey's accession may be hampered by the egoism of the world's richest countries and xenophobia shown by western societies. Deputy head of the Sejm foreign affairs committee Tadeusz Iwinski of the Democratic Left Alliance SLD believes that the idea of Turkey presence in the EU has a "paramount civilisation meaning" as adjustment changes will surely influence other Muslim countries worldwide.

Warsaw, Dec. 17: European economists want the EU to relax the monetary policy of the European Central Bank and increase the EU budget. A group of economists associated in the Euromemorandum group made this statement at news conference ahead of December's EU summit meeting. Prof. Janusz Tomidajewicz, the Euromemorandum signatory and UP member, told that the EU economic policy implemented within the framework of the Lisbon Strategy, has neither led to economic growth and improvement of competitiveness nor solved social problems at EU member-states. Tomidajewicz pointed out that the role of both the EU and its member-states in the implementation of the strategy has to be increased. The memorandum signatories urge relaxation of the monetary policy in the euro zone by lowering the key interest rate to 1.5 percent, and want the EU budget widened to 5 pct of GDP and a 40 pct flat CIT.

Bielsko-Biala, Dec. 17: Permanent exhibitions depicting the martyrdom of French and Russian citizens in former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz will open on January 27, 2005 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin. January 27, 2005 will mark the 60th anniversary of the death camp liberation. Main ceremonies will be held on the territory of the nearby death camp of Birkenau. Spokesman for the museum Jaroslaw Mensfelt said that on that day the museum will be closed to visitors. Birkenau will probably be open, he said but warned possible visitors about problems that may be caused by a tight security system as numerous state leaders announced they would attend ceremonies. The French exhibition, on display since 1979 has been devoted to the memory of 76,000 Jews including more than 11,000 children deported to death camps of which only 2.500 survived. Also more than 3,000 non-Jewish French Resistance movement members were deported to Auschwitz, of which 969 survived. The Russian exhibition has been updated for the fourth time since it opened in 1961 to commemorate some 15,000 Soviet war prisoners of whom only a handful survived. Permanent national exhibitions at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum were set up at the initiative of former prisoners with the first one being opened in 1960.

Warsaw, Dec. 17: The number of Poles opposing the presence of Polish troops in Iraq has fallen to 68 percent in December, down 4 percentage points from a similar survey in November, with support for the mission rising by 3 p.p. to 27 percent. CBOS said in a commentary, the issue of Poland's participation in the Iraqi operation has drawn smaller opposition in December than in the past 3 months, but opponents outnumber supporters. Opinions on the possible return of troops to Poland have also softened. Sixty three percent of the polled, vs. 61 pct in November, want them to be back home now, and 33 percent (vs. 35 pct) say they should remain in Iraq to complete the mission. The poll was conducted on a representative random sample of 973 adult Poles on Dec. 3-6, that is before the death of three Poles in a copter crash in Iraq and the government decision to reduce Poland's military contingent to 1,700 troops from February 2005.

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Why when stars are out, can they be seen, but when the lights are out, they cannot be seen?

Why is it that when one gets fit one is healthy, but when one has a fit one is ill?

Why does a seeded loaf has seeds in it, but seeded raisins have them taken out?

Why does one's house goes up in flames at the same time as it is burning down?

Why when I wind up my watch do I start it, but when I wind up a project I end it?

Why does a mediocre athlete have a slim chance of getting a medal but a fat chance of getting the gold?

If money makes the world go around, how come bills travel at twice the speed of cheques?

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The weather in Poland is shaped by a shallow low pressure area centered over Gdansk Bay up north. It is cloudy with sunny breaks. Snow or sleet is falling in places. Maximum temperatures – from minus 2 Celsius in the east of the country to plus 3 Celsius in the north-west. Wind – light and moderate, westerly and south-westerly.

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News from Poland...

President, defence minister attend mass for fallen soldiers

Warsaw, Dec. 16: President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski attended a mass for the soldiers fallen in Iraq in the Polish Army Field Cathedral. We will see good effects of the stabilization mission when Iraq is no longer dangerous for itself and for the entire world, the president said and stressed that the losses were very painful. But this does not change my conviction that this sacrifice should be made to make us all more safe worldwide, the president added. Three Polish soldiers died in a helicopter crash in Iraq. The latest fatalities brought the number of Poles who have died in Iraq since September 3, 2003 to 20, including 16 soldiers.

Warsaw, Dec. 16: British PM Tony Blair thanked President Aleksander Kwasniewski for his mediation after a rigged presidential elections in Ukraine and congratulated on the success of the mediation in a telephone conversation. The sides voiced satisfaction that the post-election crisis in Ukraine was resolved without resorting to force. They stressed the significance of the future development of Ukraine for Europe. Kwasniewski and Blair exchanged views on the ongoing discussions on financial prospects of the EU and on issues relating to the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty. Blair extended his condolences to the president and the families of the Polish soldiers that were killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq.

Moscow, Dec. 16: Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a visit to Poland in January 2005, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting with his Polish counterpart Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz. Earlier the Russian president announced he would attend the ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi death camp on January 27. KL Auschwitz extermination camp was liberated on January 27, 1945 by the Red Army. Israeli President Mosche Katsaw and Poland's President Aleksander Kwasniewski are also expected to attend the main celebrations. Kwasniewski also accepted an invitation for celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the end of WW2 on May 9 in Moscow, Lavrov said.

Moscow, Dec. 16: Polish-Russian cooperation after the EU enlargement was the main subject of debates of the Polish-Russian Cooperation Strategy Committee chaired by Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Earlier in the day the two ministers held a face-to-face meeting. Cimoszewicz said after the talks that Polish-Russian economic relations have intensified remarkably over the past several months. The annual trade turnover between the two countries was expected to be worth some seven billion USD this year, Cimoszewicz said adding that exports of Polish goods to Russia had grown by 80 percent over the last 10 months. Before the talks Lavrov stressed that the development of cooperation between Russia and Poland might significantly contribute to the development of Russia-EU cooperation. He also said that the talks are to focus on economic issues, including power engineering sector. Cimoszewicz stressed that todate work of the committee confirmed the need for regular bilateral consultations and added that the next meeting of the committee could be held in Warsaw in spring 2005. During a press conference Minister Cimoszewicz expressed hope for progress in solving difficult issues in Polish-Russian relations. Minister Lavrov said that the Russian prosecutor's office is concluding work on documents concerning the Katyn crime which, in tune with earlier promises, will be handed over to the Polish side. Minister Cimoszewicz stressed that Poland can await with certain optimism for next steps regarding the mutual return of culture property and the very complex situation of descendants of Poles deported to Siberia. Referring to the situation in Ukraine, Lavrov stressed "the identical view" of both sides that "the Ukrainian people must solve the present situation alone, without external interference. Minister Lavrov said that the "round table" attended by President Aleksander Kwasniewski "has contributed to the solving of the conflict, or at least to the easing of tension" in Ukraine.

Warsaw, Dec. 16: The Polish Foreign Ministry condemns the decision of the Burma/Myanmaru authorities to prolong for another year the detention in home arrest of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the ministry here stated in a communique. The decision means that improvement processes in Burma set in "The Road Map to Democracy" have been halted and the fate of detained opposition members is uncertain and so is the situation of citizens of Burma who have rights to live in a free country, the ministry said. The Polish government actively supporting international efforts, also those undertaken within the EU, will continue to take actions aimed at the release of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi who with her National League for Democracy won the parliamentary elections in Burma in 1990. Poland's stand is that the opposition in Burma should be allowed to join the process of national reconciliation and democratisation and that all actions aimed against her by the current authorities of that country are illegal and do not serve stabilisation of the situation in Burma and the South-East Asia region, the Polish Ministry press release stated.

Warsaw, Dec. 16: As of March 1, 2005 access to Internet will be subject to 22 percent VAT rate, under an amendment to the law on VAT adopted by the Sejm. As of the start of 2004 access to Internet has been exempted from VAT. The amendment is aimed at adjusting the law on VAT to EU regulations. The finance ministry explained the move by EC official procedures for amending the law on access to the Internet binding in Poland so as it may be compatible with the EU laws. Deputy Finance Minister Jaroslaw Neneman stressed that the government had been trying to persuade Brussels to keep preferential terms for educational institutions.

Warsaw, Dec. 16. Senate Speaker Longin Pastusiak has been invited by the Union of Lithuanian Poles for a one-day visit to Lithuania. Pastusiak will meet Arturas Paulauskas, the Lithuanian Sejm President, to discuss problems of the Polish Lithuanian community. The Senate Speaker told that he will also try to find out why programmes by TV Polonia, whose licence to broadcast programmes to the country expires at the end of 2004, are not received by the local community. Pastusiak pointed out that the issue is of great importance to Lithuanian Poles whom Pastusiak received two weeks ago. Pastusiak will receive a high Lithuanian decoration in recognition of his contribution to the development of Polish-Lithuanian relations.

Divanija, Dec. 16: Two out of four Polish soldiers injured in a helicopter crash in Iraq will shortly be evacuated to Poland, spokesman for the commander of the multinational Centre-South division, colonel Artur Domanski said. Domanski added that the condition of another wounded soldier is serious but stable.

Warsaw, Dec. 16: Minister for Internal Affairs and Administration Ryszard Kalisz presented young, talented Romanies with scholarships. Scholarships were granted to 40 Roma students and 12 Roma children with singular artistic talents. Kalisz said at the presentation ceremony that scholarships are to encourage young people of Roma origin to become more active in life and set an example for others. The scholarship will amount to an equivalent of 160 USD per person a month. The 12 Roma children showing singular artistic talents received a one-time grant of an equivalent of 7.8 thousand USD each. The money is to be destined for the purchase of a computer or painting materials. The idea to grant scholarships came from the Roma community. The government implements a programme promoting education in the Roman community, covering the period up to 2013. The government subsidies are also destined for improvement of housing and sanitary standards in centres inhabited by Roma minority. According to the ministry estimates there are about 20 thousand Romanies living in Poland.

Warsaw, Dec. 16: Poczta Polska (Polish Post) will likely go public in 2006, the company's director general Tadeusz Bartkowiak said. At present the enterprise is being transformed into a joint stock company, but the process will not be concluded by mid-2005. The planned changes will not entail group layoffs. Next year some 1,200 people will be made redundant, the number similar to previous years. At present Poczta Polska implements a development strategy approved in July 2004, which foresees the strengthening of market position in its core operations, that is postal services and mass payments within the coming two years.

Wroclaw, Dec. 16: Wroclaw, south-west Poland, will compete to host the 2012 World Expo, Mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz said and pledged to ask PM Marek Belka for support. The Lower Silesia capital wants to host an EXPO with a theme, which is organised every four years. The contestants for the 2012 EXPO organisation may apply only after the host of the 2008 World Exhibition is chosen. Dutkiewicz says Wroclaw has considerable chances in the race. The theme for EXPO in Wroclaw is to be connected with culture and will be selected jointly with the BIE.

Warsaw, Dec. 16: Ninety three percent of Poles have said in a December poll that the prices of most of consumer goods have grown on Poland's entry of the EU, the results of a poll by TNS OBOP showed. The results remained unchanged from November. Fifty one percent have said consumer goods' prices have risen significantly (2 p.p. more than in November), and 42 percent have said price increases have been insignificant, vs. 44 pct. Five percent have not seen price rising and less than 1 percent believe they have fallen since May 1. OBOB has said 2 percent have no opinion on the matter. TNS OBOP indicates that 56 percent of Poles are happy with Poland's EU membership, up from November's 52 pct. Twelve percent are not content with the membership. The poll was conducted on a representative sample of Poles over 15 on December 2-5.

Warsaw, Dec. 16: Fifty three percent of Polish companies have declared they will increase investment outlays next year compared to 44 percent reported in a last year survey, according to a poll of European Economic Survey 2005 on business sentiment in Europe's regions. Thirty five percent of businessmen believe that 2005 will bring better climate for business operations, secretary general of the Polish Chamber of Commerce KIG Marek Kloczko told. Last year 20 percent counted on better conditions in 2004. Kloczko added that despite more optimistic attitudes Poland still ranked low regarding the assessment of business operations.

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Three Polish soldiers die in helicopter crash in Iraq

Divanija, Warsaw, Dec. 15: Three Polish soldiers died in a helicopter crash in Iraq, colonel Andrzej Domanski, the spokesman for the commander of the multi-national South-Centre division said. The number of injured in the crash varies depending on source of information. Colonel Domanski said four people were injured, while spokesman for the General Staff, Colonel Zbigniew Gnatowski spoke of six people being injured. One of the injured is said to be in serious condition. Deputy Defence Minister Janusz Zemke said that among the injured are Polish nurses. The crash took place at 1215 hrs local time. Due to an engine malfunction the Sokol helicopter had an emergency landing 8 km off Kerbala. Zemke said that following today's crash all Polish helicopters stationed in Iraq have been grounded until a special commission, headed by deputy head of the multinational division General Ryszard Sorokosz, decides on the reasons of the crash. PM Marek Belka said he was moved by information on the death of three Polish soldiers. Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski offered condolences to the families of the deceased. The minister said that it was a tragic day for the Polish mission in Iraq. Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz stressed Poland is paying a high price for the ambitious plan to help the Iraqi people to build a new state respecting the rights of its own citizens. Cimoszewicz expressed hope that the stabilization mission in Iraq is nearing its end and recalled that the government decided to cut the size of the Polish military contingent following the January elections in Iraq. The latest fatalities brought the number of Poles who have died in Iraq since September 3, 2003 to 20, including 16 soldiers.

Bielsko-Biala, Dec. 15: PM Marek Belka and Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski met with soldiers of the 19 Bielsko-Biala airborne battalion and with the families of the soldiers who had been killed in Iraq. Having learnt about the death of three Polish soldiers in a helicopter crash in Iraq earlier in the day the PM said: "Three polish troops died in Iraq. It's more difficult to speak in such a situation about the demands of the service. Being together helps us overcome such difficult moments." Before the meeting the PM laid flowers at the grave of captain Slawomir Strozak who was killed in May in Iraq.

Bielsko-Biala, Dec. 15: Our calm and patience in our dealings with the Iraqis are beginning to pay off, Polish PM Marek Belka said commenting today's sealing of an army supply contract for Iraq by the Buman engineering company. Belka said he was convinced further contracts would follow, also in non-military fields.

Warsaw, Dec. 15: PM Marek Belka and Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz will attend a session of the European Council in Brussels on December 16-17, the foreign ministry reported. The session will focus on EU further enlargement by Turkey and Croatia, the EU New Financial Perspective, a discussion on the latest developments in Ukraine, the Middle East peace process and the European Security Strategy.

The agenda envisages state leaders' meetings with President of the European Parliament Josep Borrell, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, and a session devoted to terrorism.

Warsaw, Dec. 15: PM Marek Belka appointed Janusz Opolski new deputy health minister responsible for pharmaceuticals policy and medical cadres training, the government information centre said in a communique. Opolski worked in the ministry in 2003 for almost a month but resigned following the then health minister Balicki's resignation. The appointment came as a replacement for Rafal Nizankowski who was sacked earlier in the month over his embarrassing statements in a replay to a document from the EU health commissioner on a new EU health strategy providing good health opportunities for everyone. Nizankowski wrote then he did not like an idea of health for all as it "smelled like a communist slogan". Balicki said that his deputy's statements were contrary to the government's stand and motioned for the dismissal.

Warsaw, Dec. 15: Poland will back Georgia in its drive to join the EU and NATO, Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said after talks with his Georgian counterpart Salome Zurabishvili. The minister stressed that Poland would not only support Georgia's political aspirations but also share its experiences in integration with the EU. Zurabishvili is on an official visit to Poland. Zurabishvili and Cimoszewicz signed a memorandum on cooperation between Poland and Georgia in European and Euroatlantic integration, as well as a cooperation protocol between foreign ministers, and a cooperation programme between Poland's and Georgia's governments in culture, science, education, youth and sport in 2004-2006. Cimoszewicz and Zurabishvili were agreed that to-date cooperation level between the two countries was unsatisfactory. Cimoszewicz said that trade exchange worth several million dollars today, "is nearly non-existent." Zurabishvili also met with President Aleksander Kwasniewski to discuss political and economic contacts between Georgia and Poland, and the situation in southern Caucasus. President Kwasniewski invited Georgia's president to pay a visit to Poland.

Warsaw, Dec. 15: Polish-Russian cooperation after the EU enlargement, reforms of the UN and OSCE are the main subjects of talks to be held during a visit to Moscow by Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz. Together with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov Minister Cimoszewicz will chair a meeting of the Polish-Russian Cooperation Strategy Committee set up in 2002 by Polish and Russian Presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski and Vladimir Putin. The programme of the visit envisages a meeting with PM Mikhail Fradkov. The talks in Moscow are also planned to cover regional cooperation, with particular emphasis on the Kaliningrad district, natural environment and youth exchange. The two sides will also discuss multilateral cooperation within the UN, OSCE and the Council of Europe. The first meeting of the Polish-Russian Cooperation Strategy Committee was held in Warsaw in June 2002.

Warsaw, Dec. 15: This is a first step to more such contracts, foreign minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said commenting a military supply contract for Iraq signed by Poland's Bumar company and the Iraqi defence ministry. Cimoszewicz told that Poland will probably seal several contracts for energy projects in Iraq. This is good news. This means commercial profits for Polish firms, but most of all it shows how multifarious our involvement in Iraq is, Cimoszewicz said.

Warsaw, Dec. 15: The most promising areas of Polish-Iranian cooperation include mining and road building in Iran and Polish-Iranian participation in the reconstruction of Iraq, Deputy PM Jerzy Hausner told at the end of a 10th session of the Polish-Iranian mixed commission. Reconstruction of Iraq is the other area where Polish companies could cooperate with Iranian partners, he added. "We want to seek local partners in the Middle East, not only in Iran. Cooperation with Iranian partners opens great opportunities," Hausner said. Iran's Industry and Mining Minister Eshagh Jahangiri said that "Iran is the major industrialised partner in the region". "Trade with the EU accounts for over 40 percent of our trade turnover. Following Poland's entry of the EU we have better cooperation conditions," he added. The Polish Economy and Labour Ministry said Poland's trade with Iran had visibly grown to USD 126 million in 2003 from USD 48 mn in 2000.

Kiev, Dec. 15: Poland rejected accusations of Ukrainian PM Viktor Janukovych who claimed that President Aleksander Kwasniewski "meddled in Ukraine's internal affairs" during the Ukrainian "round table" debates. Poland's ambassador in Kiev Marek Ziolkowski said that "meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs is out of the question." "Ukraine is a member of international organisations such as the OSCE and the Council of Europe, and the mandate of mediators was limited to bringing about the resolution of a political crisis," Ziolkowski said. Yanukovych accused Poland's president and other western mediators of meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs. He said that Kwasniewski and other mediators backed the "legal nihilism that prevailed in Ukraine during the 'Orange Revolution'."

Warsaw, Dec. 15: Sejm Deputy Speaker Jozef Zych told the visiting parliamentary delegation of Kazakhstan that Polish society was glad that "people of Kazakhstan build democratic and independent state," the Sejm Chancellery reported. Zych stressed that in its foreign policy Poland strives to maintain close and friendly relations with states from outside the EU, especially at the parliamentary level. He added that Kazakhstan was particularly close to Poles because of numerous group of Poles and persons of Polish descent living there. The guests showed interest in questions pertaining to Polish parliamentarians' rights and duties.

Warsaw, Dec. 15: The Monetary Policy Council (RPP) left interest rates unchanged. The RPP kept a restrictive bias in the monetary policy. The National Bank of Poland (NBP) said in a communique that the rate of 14-day interventions will be still not less than 6.50 pct, the lombard rate will be 8.00 pct, the rediscount rate 7.00 percent, and the deposit rate 5.00 pct.

Warsaw, Dec. 15: Eighty two percent of Poles negatively assess the Marek Belka government while 11 percent voice positive opinions about the cabinet, according to TNS OBOP. According to the poll, Marek Belka's personal ratings also went down with 27 percent of pollees declaring they were pleased with his work and 40 percent saying they were dissatisfied with the PM. Fifty three percent of Poles, praised President Aleksander Kwasniewski's work while 39 percent voiced negative opinions about the head of the state. The president's personal ratings went down by 14 percentage points from December 2003. The poll was conducted on December 2-5, 2004 on a representative sample of 1,005 Poles over 15.

Warsaw, Dec. 15: Ninety percent of Poles in a CBOS survey said the domestic labour market situation was bad, 44 percent that it was very bad. Only 2 percent claimed it was good. 29 percent said there was no work in their residence area, 46 percent that work was hard to get anywhere, 22 percent claimed work could be found but was usually inappropriate. No respondents said work could be found easily. 18 percent expected a change for the better, no one expected a decided upswing. 16 percent expected a worsening of the employment situation, of these 3 percent a decided worsening. 50 percent of employed pollees said they felt secure in their jobs, 46 percent feared the sack. CBOS ran the survey from december 3 to 6 on a random group of 973 adult Poles.

posted by: Oborski at 21:45 | link | comments |

From Warsaw Voice

I was waiting for the ships from Cuba to arrive.
No, I wasn’t waiting for the sweetish smell of southern seas, nor the romantically weather-beaten faces of sailors, nor the pulsating rhythm of Creole music. I wasn’t wishing for wide-eyed beauties, nor for the pleasantly rounded shape of rum barrels. I wasn’t dreaming of pirate treasures, nor did I look into the sad faces of the waiting fiancees of those who had sailed away into the wide world. There was nothing of the climate of Conrad there, nor Stevenson.

It was the frosty Polish December of 1982, and with thousands of my peers I was waiting for the ships from Cuba to arrive. They would arrive and bring Cuban oranges. These oranges were dry and very hard to peel, but when they said on TV that the ships had been unloaded, it meant Christmas was near. In those far-off days, oranges appeared just once a year on Polish tables, as a treat after the Christmas Eve supper, and their arrival in Polish ports was heralded joyfully in all the newspapers.

I’ve no idea why, but when I go back to that December, the strongest memory is that eager waiting for the oranges and not the great issues of those times that my child learns in history at school today. Lech Wałęsa had just been released from jail, and after a year of martial law the authorities had magnanimously suspended it. Opposition activists were still locked away, and real power over the country was in the hands of the gloomy generals.

Today, years later, should I be ashamed that my clearest memory from Advent 1982 is waiting for the rather bitter taste of Cuban oranges?
■ Near the end of the year, I often remember a story from my grandfather’s times.
Varsovians returning from balls on New Year’s Eve 1906/07 were hit by an unusually bright light on Teatralny Square. That night, the city’s first streetlamp had been lit in front of the Town Hall.

When I look through memoirs from those times, I nearly always find a description of that single streetlamp standing in the middle of the snow-covered square. For those people, this miracle of technology was the thing they best remembered from the frosty winter of 1907.

Attention, ladies and gentlemen! What a winter that was. Poland was in the midst of a revolution and there were bombs exploding in the streets, people were shooting at tsarist officials, revolutionaries were being hanged. Despite this, years later old people saw before their eyes not the political drama, but that New Year’s Eve when they were young, snow squeaking under their feet, and that streetlamp. The first one they had ever seen.

Does this mean the people of those times should also be ashamed that they remembered the streetlamp just like I remember the bitter Cuban orange?
Contrary to what politicians believe, people aren’t at all absorbed with politics. They are absorbed with simple, everyday matters. Sometimes life pushes them towards politics, especially when their rights or their sense of decency are violated too brutally, or when someone makes their life difficult. That’s when they head out into the street or give their support to politicians of change. But the fever lasts just a short time and then, as soon as possible, they return to their natural roles, and quickly wipe politics from their minds. The rule of politicians and newspapers has its limits: it doesn’t reach as far as people’s memories.

Contrary to what inspired politicians sometimes think, people don’t need much. A warm home, a contented family gathered around the soft lamplight, the certainty that tomorrow won’t be worse than today, peace and safety. And that’s what they remember best in their old age.

What, then, will really remain in the Poles’ memories of the year that brought them accession to the united Europe and the downfall of the corrupt leftists, economic growth and the collapse of trust in the state, lower taxes and the demonic spectacles of investigation committees?

What will remain after the night during which the lights in the ballroom go off for a moment, as the hands of the clock move towards midnight—the night invented to stupefy the memory that new rent will have to be paid in January, new interest on a loan and new taxes?
■ This year, as usual, everyone saw their Poland differently.
One young lady is the happiest about the fact that they’ve stopped building high-rises in Warsaw and are finally renovating historical tenement houses. She does worry a little bit, though, that they’re only doing the facades.

Another young lady did a test—she traveled across Europe with her Polish ID, just to check if she was really a citizen of united Europe. She crossed the borders there and back without any problem and is happy now, because she knows she’s a full-fledged European.

I know loads of people for whom the most important experience of the year was standing in line for long hours in November. This time it wasn’t for laundry detergent or bicycle pedals, but shares in the privatized PKO bank. Today in Poland, you stand in line for capitalism.

I know a few people who are really happy that they can go out for a beer with their pals on a Friday night. And I know young girls who feel good about running around in orange scarves in December—the color of the Ukrainian opposition supported by Polish youth.

I listened to rightist deputy Zbigniew Ziobro, who was sad that the Sejm had rejected his motion to restore the death penalty in Poland. And billionaire Jan Kulczyk, who discovered after the campaign by the Savonarolas of the investigation committee that money didn’t bring happiness. For these two gentlemen, Poland has become a worse place.

I also listened to rightist deputy Zbigniew Wasserman—his Poland is crawling with Russian spies, treacherous plutocrats, ministers conniving with gangsters and communist mafiosi. That’s the kind of Poland Wasserman sees this year, and nothing can convince him he’s wrong.

This year as always, Poland was woven from millions of little events, different for every person.

Some Poles had a lot of resentment against and business with their country and yelled this out at full volume.
Others, not necessarily wealthy and happy, had much more modest requests for Poland. Like in the old song from the student theater: “Poland, wish us a good night and be nice. Like we are to you—be to us.”
■ 2004 brought Poland a great deal of aggression and hatred. In politics, of course.
Throughout the year the Poles watched evil, despicable, corrupt, pathetic people on TV.

After a year like that, it’s great to reach for one of the purest works by Dickens, The Cricket on the Hearth. The singing of the kettle on the fire and the chirping of the cricket are a quiet melody that best drowns out any human defects and imprudence. Poland could also do with old Caleb, who presents the world to his poor blind daughter as being beautiful, and paints even the greatest rogues in golden tones.

At the end of the story, the despicable schemer Tackleton is punished and derided. Everything is aflame with joy, but outside in the cold wind there stands an angry and ridiculed man. Can he be left like this? Oh no, says Dickens and leads him inside—improved and converted.

And these are a few simple lessons from an elderly gentleman from a century and a half ago. It’s a lesson flowing from the more important, private sphere of human life to the public sphere.

And that’s what is best visible in the light of a lonely electric streetlamp on a square covered in squeaking snow.

posted by: Oborski at 10:16 | link | comments |

From Polish Voice

Despite weakening trends in recent months, the Polish economy continues to travel the path of rapid development. In all forecasts, gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to cross the 5 percent mark this year, one of the best results among European Union member countries.

The Polish economy's prospects are confirmed by recent macroeconomic data. According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS), in the first three quarters this year the economy developed faster than one year ago. Production and exports increased, as did sales in retail and services. However, the most positive information concerns the labor market. This year, unemployment decreased over a few months, dropping in September below 3 million registered unemployed, a level last reported three years ago.

Production up
Industrial production, which has the largest influence on economic growth, was 14.6 percent higher in the first three quarters than last year, mainly due to better results in industrial manufacture-the fastest growth was reported in sales by firms producing capital goods. High productivity growth was maintained, with the share of state-of-the-art products in industrial production reporting steady growth. They now account for 15.5 percent of sold production, compared with 13.2 percent one year ago. The automotive industry reported particularly fast growth-63 percent production growth on last year, shipbuilding-37-percent growth, audio-visual equipment-29 percent, and electronics-24 percent. However, the overall production growth rate decreased every quarter: 19 percent in the first quarter dropped to 9.2 percent in the third quarter in annual terms.

Work productivity continues to grow rapidly, gauged by sold production per employee. Over the first nine months this year, with an average drop by 0.5 percent in employment in industry, efficiency increased by over 15 percent. Improvements in product quality and modernity, reduced operation costs and favorable exchange rates create good conditions for competition on foreign and domestic markets for Polish producers. According to experts at the Government Center for Strategic Studies (RCSS), this will permit overall growth in industrial production this year by about 13 percent, against 8.4 percent last year.

Meanwhile, countering the construction lull is slow going. Production by construction companies from Jan.-Sept. this year was 4.1 lower than in the same period last year, but in annual terms they may report a level similar to last year, taking into account the 3.6 percent drop in 2003. However, this would require a growth rate of at least 5 percent in each individual month of the fourth quarter this year. If a further drop takes place, 2004 would be the fourth recession year in a row in this sector of the economy.

Investment up
According to the RCSS, investment has become a supporting factor in upward economic trends. After reporting a systematic fall by more than 22 percent during 2001-03, medium-sized and large business entities reported an increase in investment outlays by 8.7 percent in the first half of this year.

This upward movement in investment is expected to continue, which is reflected in considerable improvement in the financial standing of companies. At present they have at their disposal twice as much funds from net profit as a year ago, at a higher net sales profitability of 5.2 percent this year compared with 1.8 percent in the first half of last year, and liquidity of 26.8 percent compared with 19.9 percent, respectively. Capital reserves of companies on commercial bank accounts have also reported steep growth of 26 percent September on September. The value of corporate bank deposits amounts to zl.76.5 billion, or about 9 percent of GDP.

Other factor confirming this trend is sustained high growth-40 percent from Jan.-Sept.-in the production of capital goods, and accelerated growth in imports-from 6.1 percent in 2003 up to nearly 20 percent in the first half of this year, with a simultaneous drop in exports of these goods. Moreover, there has also been an increase on interest by foreign capital in Poland, stimulated by the country's improved image as an investment location.

The RCSS notes increasingly frequent signals of record-high utilization of production capacity, and even insufficient capacity in light of growing demand for a number of products. The need to renovate and modernize existing machinery is also growing in order to comply with the norms and standards binding in the EU. Therefore, the RCSS forecasts that investment layouts in the national economy may increase by about 8.5 percent this year, against a drop of 0.1 percent last year.

Despite favorable results in production and services as well as high productivity, the corporate salary growth rate is diminishing. In the first quarter, real earnings were 3.8 percent higher than one year ago and in the second-1.6 percent, while in the third-they fell by 0.5 percent. Consequently, over the first nine months, overall growth amounted to 1.7 percent. In annual terms, the real pay growth rate in the company sector may approximate the figure featured in the budget bill-1.6 percent.

Unemployment down
A major problem in the Polish economy is very high unemployment. Over the past few months though, the situation on the labor market has been improving. At the end of September, the number of jobless was nearly 3 million, with the unemployment rate at 18.9 percent against 19.4 one year ago. In October, the rate dropped to 18.7 percent, a result 3.9 percent below that reported one year ago.

According to Jerzy Hausner, deputy prime minister and minister of the economy, consistent implementation of a policy favorable to entrepreneurship and the reduction of unemployment, as well as proper utilization of EU funds and other advantages stemming from Poland's membership in the EU, should lead to a drop in unemployment to below 10 percent "around the year 2008," a figure that can be considered "a decent European indicator." According to earlier analyses, Polish conditions favor employment growth at an annual GDP growth of 5.35 percent. Last year, with 3.8 percent growth in GDP, employment fell by about 1 percent.

Inflation and the zloty
High inflation in recent months is a less optimistic signal. In July and August, the annual inflation rate was 4.6 percent, which fell to 4.4 percent in September only to rise to 4.5 percent in October. According to GUS data, higher than forecasted inflation is first and foremost a result of increases in food and gasoline prices. The prices of food and soft drinks increased by 7.7 percent on October last year and by 1.1 percent on the previous month of this year.

According to Finance Minister Mirosław Gronicki, the October inflation increase is chiefly due to high oil prices. Their current level indicates that in the upcoming months, slower growth in prices can be expected. The price of the dollar has already dropped below zl.3.30-a more than seven year low-and remains steady. Since oil is purchased with dollars, there is a chance that fuel prices will stabilize. The Ministry of Finance, however, has raised the end year inflation target to 4.3-4.4 percent. Previously, following the publication of data on food prices in the first half of October, the ministry projected the inflation rate would drop to 4.0 percent in December.

Maciej Krzak, chief economist at Bank Handlowy, believes that a strong złoty should largely offset high oil prices, although inflation will remain at 4.5 percent in December and 4.7 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2005. Later inflation is expected to fall. Halina Wasilewska-Trenkner of the Monetary Policy Council (RPP) shares this opinion. She forcasts inflation will remain at about 5 percent through April and fall to 3 percent by the end of 2005.

Analysts also believe that inflation may approximate the target figure of 2.5 percent, +/- 1 percentage point, projected by the central bank no sooner than in mid-2005. However, the tendency will not be steady due to demand factors whose influence on inflation cannot yet be predicted.

The inflationary increase in Poland reflects trends observed throughout the EU. According to the EU statistical office Eurostat, inflation in the eurozone increased in October to 2.4 percent, up from 2.1 percent in September year-on-year. Month-on-month consumer prices went up by 0.3 percent against 0.2 percent in September. In the "old" Fifteen, year-on-year inflation in October increased to 2.1 percent, up from 1.9 percent in September, and in all 25 EU member countries to 2.3 percent from 2.1 percent.

At the end of this year, the high exchange rate of the złoty has become a problem. The Polish currency has systematically strengthened since the country's entry to the EU. From the beginning of the year through early December, the zloty appreciated by 17.3 percent to the dollar and 11.1 percent to the euro. Late in November, the dollar's value dropped to zl.3.17 and the euro-to zl.4.19. This means that the dollar/zloty exchange rate was the lowest since May 1997, and that of euro/zloty since March 2003.

A strong zloty is first and foremost problematic for exporters. "We fear that the strengthening of the zloty might stifle Polish export activity, which has been the chief engine of our growth," said Prime Minister Marek Belka. According to Krzysztof Rybiński, deputy president of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), the zloty exchange rate has been overvalued while NBP models indicate that depreciation of the zloty will take place within two years.

posted by: Oborski at 10:10 | link | comments |

From "Polish Voice"

Despite what old European Union members feared, Germany and France were not invaded by Polish workers following May 1, 2004. Actually, some Western European countries are actively seeking qualified personnel in Poland.

The EU's fearful anticipation of job-seekers flooding Western Europe after the admission of new members, Poland in particular, was not entirely unjustified. The unemployment rate in Poland remains very high at over 18 percent. In September, it was 18.9 percent, compared to 19.1 percent in August and 17.5 percent the year before.

Fears of a tide of unemployed coming from the new member countries to the old ones resulted in disregard for one of four fundamental rules of the EU's existence-the free flow of people within the entire EU. The outcome of social anxiety in Germany and other EU countries was the inclusion in the Accession Treaty of transition periods of up to seven years for workers from the new member countries-Poland included. What this means is that in the next few years, Poles will be unable to freely take jobs in most countries of the former "15," except for the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden. When the transition period is through, they will be able to work wherever they like.

The UK has most notably changed its attitude to job-seeking Poles. Even though prior to Poland's accession the British were well-known for strict treatment of illegal workers, and even deported Poles who had come to the UK for non-profit purposes, when Poland entered the EU the British borders opened to Poles willing to work.

After May 1, buses full of Poles seeking new jobs and chances of a lifetime arrived in the UK. Many came totally unprepared, with small amounts of money, no guarantees of a job or accommodation and zero knowledge of English. They wandered around London and other cities to no avail. A few of the newcomers did find jobs, others, disappointed, returned to Poland. The Polish press widely reported stories of this kind.

However, more and more of those who decide to look for a job abroad start to prepare themselves thoroughly. They know it is out of the question to get a good job without any knowledge of the language. They search for work while still in Poland, at employment centers or on the Internet, and then they travel to time-tested places.

The UK has more and more jobs for Polish doctors and nurses. Medical staff is mainly attracted to the radically higher salaries and better work conditions. The road to getting a job in the UK can be facilitated by earlier employment with a Polish company belonging to a British investor. Poles employed at Tesco supermarkets have a fair chance of finding jobs with the chain's stores in the UK. There was also a recruitment of bus drivers who would be willing to travel to Britain.

In the past Poles usually went abroad on their own and worked "under the table." These days there are more carefully planned, family trips. Due to differences in wages between countries of the old "15" and Poland, many Poles find such trips highly profitable.

Employers are usually satisfied with Polish workers. It turns out pessimistic visions of masses of Poles leaving for the West only to "settle" and then use social benefits-were unfounded. In fact, Polish workers frequently are not even aware of social benefits they are entitled to in individual EU countries.

One more reason why Western Europe's fears of a tide of profit-oriented emigrants were unjustified is that not everybody is ready for such a radical change. To many, leaving home to find a job, for a long time or even forever, is a hard decision, especially when it involves resettlement of entire families, change of environment, searching for a new school for children and separation from the rest of their family.

The fact that the Polish labor market is becoming part of that of the united Europe is also manifested in advertisements for work abroad that have appeared in the Polish press. They can be found in the Gazeta Praca supplement of Gazeta Wyborcza. The newspaper prints information on work in the UK on a regular basis, as this is the largest labor market in the EU that is open to Poles. Dec. 1, another new special supplement Europa, Praca i Studia printed over 20 ads concerning work in the EU. The professions most in demand include drivers, cooks, construction workers, caretakers for the elderly, baby-sitters, waiters and even for pizza deliveries.

Poles, doctors and nurses in particular, are welcome employees in Denmark and Norway. Another country open to Polish workers is Italy, whose government has increased the contingent of jobs for new EU member countries. Before the end of 2004, 16,000 people could still find seasonal jobs in Italy, 20,000 jobs have already been filled. Applications from candidates will be accepted by Italian employment offices. Most jobs will be available in agriculture, hotels and restaurants. Italian employers believe employment limitations should be abolished as soon as possible, as Italy has a shortage of workers in many branches of the economy, agriculture in particular. France is also likely to become more friendly to workers from Poland after President Aleksander Kwaśniewski's negotiations in Paris.

There is also a psychological factor when deciding to leave home to work. Now that the borders of Europe have opened to Poles, the old Europe is no longer the "promised land" to today's youth that it was to their parents. Young people find it natural that Europe is more accessible and not everyone is in a hurry to get there.

Seasonal employment in Germany proved very attractive to students in Łódź, however. They stood in long lines in front of the local employment office in November. They wanted to arrange jobs in Germany for themselves during their summer vacation.

Scientists and researchers also have new job opportunities. The Researcher's Mobility Portal (http://europa.eu.int/eracareers), set up at the initiative of the European Commission and 33 countries, went online in June 2003 and ever since, it has featured job offers and information on scholarships available to researchers.

posted by: Oborski at 10:05 | link | comments |

posted by: Oborski at 20:29 | link | comments |

posted by: Oborski at 20:21 | link | comments |

Martial Law Remembered

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the imposition of martial law in Poland. Commemorative events, including ceremonial masses and concerts have been held around the country. Meanwhile, several dozens of young people from right-wing parties protested last night in front of the house of the main architect of martial law, retired general Wojciech Jaruzelski. They were holding candles and banners saying “we will not forget this crime”. In 1981 authorities in Poland imposed martial law in a crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. The Military Council of the National Salvation headed by general Jaruzelski took over power and initiated military interventions aimed at putting hold to social unrest. Martial law formally ended on July 22, 1983.

posted by: Oborski at 02:40 | link | comments |

Warsaw Marks Hanukah Festival

This year to mark the Jewish festival of lights – the Hanukah – special menorahs appeared in public places in Poland’s capital. The biggest one was placed in front of Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science. The official lamp-lighting ceremony was conducted in the afternoon by the Chief Rabbi of Israel – Yonna Metzger and the Rabbi of Warsaw Michael Schudrich with the participation of the representatives of the City authorities, the Ministry of Culture and the diplomatic corp. It has been the first such event in Poland and with this Warsaw has joined a number of other big cities around the world to participate in the international project of public Hanukah lamp-lighting started by the Jewish organization of Chabad Lubavitch.

posted by: Oborski at 02:39 | link | comments |

Warsaw, Dec. 9: Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski took part in a tele-conference with U.S. and Lithuanian presidents George W. Bush and Valdas Adamkus, the president's chancellory informed. Bush thanked Adamkus and Kwasniewski for their mediation in the election crisis in Ukraine and said international efforts to appease the conflict had been an "excellent example of cooperation between the United States, the European Union, OSCE and NATO". Kwasniewski thanked Bush for his words of support and stressed that the success of the Ukrainian mission was in a large part an effect of the United States' pressure for honest elections in the country. Adamkus underscored Kwasniewski's leading role in the Ukrainian mission and stressed the importance of international monitoring of Ukraine's renewed second election round on December 26.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: A well-organized and honest election in Ukraine may inspire the EU to boost its cooperation with that country, Polish deputy foreign minister Jan Truszczynski said . According to Truszczynski a democratic ballot in Ukraine will force the EU to "recognize to a greater degree the ambitions of Ukraine's emerging civic society". The EC will announce a schedule for Ukraine's gradual adjustment to EU norms for the next 10-15 years.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: Prime Minister Marek Belka arrived for a two-day visit in Helsinki. The Polish prime minister will hold a face-to- face meeting with his Finnish counterpart Matti Vanhanen. Later in the day the two prime inisters will chair a plenary meeting. The programme of the visit provides also for a joint press conference of the two prime ministers. PM Belka will also meet with Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Paavo Lipponen and address the EU Commission Representation in Helsinki. The talks of the two prime ministers will focus on bilateral cooperation, European issues and the most significant international questions. Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Truszczynski said that the main subjects of bilateral talks include liberalisation of Poles' access to the Finnish labour market and moves to increase bilateral trade. According to Truszczynski, the talks will also focus on a document on the EU budget priorities for 2007-2013, now being prepared for the EU summit, further EU enlargement to include Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Turkey and the situation in Ukraine. Truszczynski also said that Belka will discuss the implementation of the offset agreement for Patria armoured transporter.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: Sejm Speaker Jozef Oleksy concluded an official visit to the Republic of the Philippines. The Sejm speaker was accompanied by a group of Polish parliamentarians. During the visit the Sejm Speaker met with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and heads of the Phillipine Senate Franklin M. Drilon and the House of presentatives Jose C. de Venecia. The programme of the visit included also meeting with ministers of defence Avelino Cruz and finance Juanita D. Amatong and with Jose L. Brillantes who is leading the foreign ministry. The two sides confirmed their interest in developing bilateral political contacts and economic cooperation. Discussed was also the role of Poland's EU membership for Poland's relations with Phillipines and other countries in the region. Poland has reported a deficit in trade with Phillipines for years. This year the deficit exceeds 60 million USD. In order to change the situation the Phillipine side displayed interest in closer cooperation in shipbuilding, machine engineering, mining and air industries. The Sejm Speaker started an official visit to India which is to mark the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. While in India, Oleksy is expected to discuss political relations and economic cooperation.

Brussels, Dec. 9: Poland will send 40 officers to Iraq on a training mission, Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz told a NATO ministerial meeting held in Brussels. NATO's Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer addressing a meeting of foreign ministers from NATO countries said the Alliance would boost its military training mission in Iraq.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: Ludwik Dorn, the leader of the Law and Justice (PiS) caucus on Thursday appealed to PM Marek Belka to dismiss Magdalena Sroda from the post of minister for gender equality. The appeal was prompted by Sroda's statement for Reuters that Predominantly Catholic Poland...has problem with violence against women." "Catholicism does not directly support or oppose violence against women. But there are indirect links through culture which is strongly based on religion," Sroda told Reuters. "It is a structure based on patriarchal domination of God the Father and the less important role of women can be seen for example in the letters of Saint Paul," Reuters quotes Sroda as saying. Sroda announced Thursday she would place herself at the disposal of the prime minister. "PiS believes that the persons voicing glaringly untrue, unwise opinions brutally insulting the faithful cannot hold a high public post on the government," Dorn stressed. Deputy Sejm Speaker Kazimierz Ujazdowski (PiS) noted that it is not for the first time that Sroda's declarations express extremist feminist ideology. Government spokesman Dariusz Jadowski wrote in a communique for PAP that according to the PM Sroda's statement made at a conference in Stockholm was "highly unfortunate". Jadowski informed that before going to Finland for a two-day visit the PM asked deputy PM Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka to prepare for nearest Monday a detailed information on the incident. Then the PM would speak to Sroda.

Sroda told a press conference in Warsaw Thursday that none of her public statements had a direct reference to Catholicism," and added that her English was not very good so all her statements were translated beforehand and she read them from paper. Sroda took part in a two-day conference on "honorary killings" in Stockholm held under the UN auspices. It was there that she granted an interview for Reuters.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: Prospects for relaxing Spanish labour laws for citizens from the new EU countries, the EU budget and future enlargement will dominate next Tuesday's Polish-Spanish consultation session in Warsaw, deputy foreign minister Jan Truszczynski said in Warsaw.

Attending the meeting will be Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and the Spanish foreign, infrastructure, agriculture, welfare, education and defence ministers. Truszczynski said Poland was interested in shortening labour transition periods in the old EU countries. Also discussed will be Iraq and the situation in Ukraine, the deputy minister said.

Warsaw, Dec. 10: President Aleksander Kwasniewski signed an amended PIT tax law under which taxpayers with annual income exceeding 600,000 zlotys will have to pay a 50 percent PIT rate, the Presidential Chancellery reported. The Sejm passed the law in mid-November. Over 4,000 taxpayers are to be affected by the amendment, and it is to generate around 240 million zlotys worth of budget revenue. The Finance Ministry opposed the amendment during legislative work. So far there were three personal income tax brackets of 19, 30, and 40 percent.

Warsaw, Dec. 10: This year budget deficit will be lower by 3-3.5 bn zlotys from the earlier planned 45.3 billion zlotys, deputy Finance Minister Elzbieta Suchocka-Roguska told PAP on Friday. According to the ministry's estimates the budget deficit after November did not exceed 75 percent of the plan. A few days ago Finance Minister Miroslaw Gronicki said that the 2004 deficit would be closer to 40 bn zlotys than 45 bn zlotys. After October deficit stood at 30.8 billion zlotys or 67.9 percent of the plan.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: Third quarter's poor investment growth of 4.1 percent threatens next year's government-projected GDP growth plan of 5 percent, Monetary Policy Council member Stanislaw Nieckarz said on Thursday. "The GDP rise is good while the investment figure is very disappointing. If investments are to constitute a major GDP rise driver in next periods and next year, then I see a real threat to the 2005 dynamics plan of 5 percent," Nieckarz said. Nieckarz expected Q3's investment rise at 6-7 percent. Nieckarz said that maintaining a more restrictive monetary policy will not stimulate investment demand whereas tightening of the fiscal policy in 2005 cannot be tied with tightening of the monetary policy. "Investments are of key importance for me. The lower investment level determines a development growth rate in the successive years," Nieckarz said.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: The Cabinet Standing Committee has agreed to finance-ministry-proposed VAT cuts and adjustments of preferential rates but decided that the matter needed further consultations, the finance ministry informed. We filed three versions of the VAT amendments. That's all we can say for now, deputy finance minister Jaroslaw Neneman said.

Eearlier this month finance minister Miroslaw Gronicki said the ministry was for the introduction of 0, 8 and 18-percent VAT thresholds. According to the minister this would bring no extra funds into the budget but promised to cut administration costs. Poland's current VAT rates are 22, 7, 3 and 0 percent.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: The Social-democracy for Poland (SdPl) Thursday announced it would file for the Sejm's self-dissolution next May in order to enable a parliamentary election in June.

SdPl caucus leader Jolanta Banach said her party was determined to file the motion but that final decisions on the matter lay with the ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). SLD leader Krzysztof Janik said today that his party will announce the election date early next year. SLD leaders said earlier that the best time for the ballot was May 2005. PM Marek Belka said shortly after taking office that his government should function no longer than until May 2005. According to surveys SdPl can currently count on up to 5 percent support.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: A convoy from Warsaw carrying food, clothes and anti-flu medication for demonstrating Jushchenko supporters in Kiev reached its destination Thursday. The two trucks with the gifts were scheduled to reach Kiev yesterday but were detained for almost 24 hours on the Ukrainian border. Warsaw vicepresident Wladyslaw Stasia, in Kiev today, told on the phone that the gifts will be distributed in the city on Friday.

Warsaw, Dec. 9: M Pierre Menat, the French Ambassador to Poland, Madame Wilkanowicz-Devaud, the President of the Fondation de Pologne, and M Eric Thebault, head of the French-Polish Cooperation Fund will take part in the official inauguration of the Fund scheduled for December 13, the French Embassy in Warsaw reported Thursday. The establishment of the French-Polish Cooperation Fund was announced by prime ministers of the two countries during the intergovernmental seminar in Paris on November 22. The Fund is a new instrument of cooperation created on the basis of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the strong support of the French and Polish Foreign ministries. It will facilitate realisation of such undertakings as training Polish students in French enterprises and French students in Poland, scholarships, permanent education for employees, organisation of seminars and conference on subjects connected with professional education and evolution of professions. Thanks to its ambitious goals and activities the Fund will contribute to the deepening of relations between Poland and France.

posted by: Oborski at 01:44 | link | comments |

Polityka is worried about Poland’s fuel security. Listening to a parliamentary inquiry into Poland’s oil scandal, one may get the impression that corrupt politicians, businessmen as well as secret service agents want, or at least wanted, to put the country’s energy sector in Russia’s hands. Are these fears realistic? The economy ministry heads describe them as exaggerated. It is a fact that Russian oil concerns have long been interested in Poland. They claim they just want to do business here. But analysts note that the Kremlin is gaining more and more influence on fuel and energy companies. Recently, Russia used its pressure weapon against a Ukrainian pipeline, which might have been an alternative source of oil supplies for Poland, if it built another section of the pipeline on its territory. Polish refineries backed out, when Russians unofficially threatened to increase the price of their oil exports. The behavior of the Russians is not transparent, neither are the sources of Polish oil imports. Aleksander Gudzowaty, head of a Polish firm which used to be the main go-between in oil imports to Poland, claims that there are many levels on which the strings are pulled – the really influential persons reside on level 5. Why five? Because on level 7 the devil itself is residing, Gudzowaty replies, explaining his theory.

Can a fit and healthy man be persuaded to buy an artificial limb, or to amputate a limb to replace it with an artificial one? – asks the weekly Wprost and replies: yes, it is possible. The procedure has developed on such a scale that alongside a free market of goods, services and ideas, there is a flourishing market of pseudo-products and pseudo-ideas. These days, Moscow has tried to sell an artificial democracy – an idea worked out and tested in Russia – to Ukraine. The offer did not cause enthusiasm. Members of the orange opposition movement decided that their prefer their own, however imperfect idea of democracy than its fake, sculpted by Russia.

Newsweek echoes this writing that Russia wants to have an influence on all former Soviet Union countries. But its divide and rule policy has so far produced more defeats than victories. The Baltics have drifted towards the west, joining NATO and the EU. Russia still exercises influence over a number of former Soviet republics, including Belarus. But it is most intent to have Ukraine in its fold, because of its huge economic and military potential.

The weekly Solidarnosc says that almost 23 years had to pass for prosecutors to launch an inquiry into the imposition of martial law in Poland in order to crush its first free trade union Solidarity. Historians agree that there was no danger of a military aggression by the Soviet Union, by which general Wojciech Jaruzelski and his associates justified the martial law imperative. Its imposition, which violated the law, the unjustified repressions and murders like the killing of protesting miners, need to be dealt with in court at last.

Tygodnik Powszechny, the lay catholics weekly, wonders why the Polish senate decided to support a controversial bill on the registration of gay marriages. First of all, it has no chance to be backed by the lower house and the president and is viewed with mixed feelings by ordinary Poles, especially the believers. Furthermore, the weekly believes that while gays and lesbians should be ensured tolerance and rights as regards inheritance and taxation, there is no need why they should be given special legal protection. Such protection should be given to marriages, as a basis of the family, or to the weak, like the handicapped, which homosexuals are not, the weekly argues.

posted by: Oborski at 14:06 | link | comments |

From Warsaw Voice

"He said he ate it all by himself, but we disagreed."
-A police officer from Wieruszów on a thief who stole a 30-kilogram pot of flaki (tripe soup) prepared for a wedding reception and after a few hours was caught with an empty pot

"I can't imagine a bailiff in the Sejm."
-Sejm Speaker Józef Oleksy, on the ruling ordering the Sejm to pay two hospitals zl.17 million due to the non-implemented law on salary raises for healthcare service

"I confirm that I was right in calling Foreign Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz a piece of scum."
-Samoobrona leader Andrzej Lepper after the government rejected the Sejm's motion demanding reparations from Germany for World War II

"In the building where they work every day, the Catholic parliamentarians wish to have an environment for developing full efficiency of their mission by achieving a proper condition of their soul."
-Part of a letter by Witold Tomczak, a European Parliament deputy from the League of Polish Families (LPR), who wants chapels on the premises of the European Parliament in Strasbourg and Brussels

"They brought me down to the police station as a witness and asked what I saw."
-Marcin Kaczorowski, a blind masseuse from Widzew Łódź soccer club, who was questioned by the police after a fight among the fans during a match

"The Belarusian nation has always had respect for the achievements of the previous generations and has not allowed glorious deeds to be erased from our history."
-Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in a speech devoted to Felix Dzherzhinsky, the creator of the Soviet secret police

posted by: Oborski at 10:10 | link | comments |

Today Father Edward and I are visiting local Kidderminster schools
to greet Polish children on St Nicholas Day. In our tradition St.
Nicholas visits today to check that children have been good all
year - so hopefully a major present will arrive on December 24th -
Wiglia - which is our big Christmas Eve Feast. Our big family
celebration is on Christmas Eve - culminating in Midnight Mass -
rather than on Christmas Day.

Poles have a nice tradition. We 'believe' that at midnight - as
Christmas Eve turns into Christmas Day - the animals can speak to
children. Only a child who has been perfect (not good but perfect)
all year can hear them!!! This has a very salutory effect on Polish
children :-)

Very few children have ever claimed to actually hear the animals
speak. Coincidentally the few that have made that claim have all
later become distinguished Polish politicians!

Today Father Edward and I are visiting local Kidderminster schools
to greet Polish children on St Nicholas Day. In our tradition St.
Nicholas visits today to check that children have been good all
year - so hopefully a major present will arrive on December 24th -
Wiglia - which is our big Christmas Eve Feast. Our big family
celebration is on Christmas Eve - culminating in Midnight Mass -
rather than on Christmas Day.

Poles have a nice tradition. We 'believe' that at midnight - as
Christmas Eve turns into Christmas Day - the animals can speak to
children. Only a child who has been perfect (not good but perfect)
all year can hear them!!! This has a very salutory effect on Polish
children :-)

Very few children have ever claimed to actually hear the animals
speak. Coincidentally the few that have made that claim have all
later become distinguished Polish politicians!

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This Week

The Spring of Ukraine, writes Polityka, frontpaging thousands upon thousands of demonstrators in Kiev, with orange banners and ribbons, protesting against rigged presidential election. The orange revolution is changing Ukraine – the weekly writes. Comments on the political crisis there appeared in all the weeklies this past week.

Wprost says that if we could see with our bare eye movements in the geopolitical space and time, we would notice clearly that these days Ukraine has moved from the East to the West by several dozen years. A few months ago, it was dozens of years behind Poland, now the distance can be expressed in ten years or so. This is irrespective of how the power struggle between the pro-Moscow candidate Viktor Yankuvich and the pro-democracy opposition leader Viktor Yuschenko eventually ends. The process of geopolitical translocation, similar to that which Poland experienced in 1980 with the birth of Solidarity, can be slowed down but rather not stopped, says Wprost.

Newsweek says that the hearts of Poles are in Ukraine. The current revolt has changed Ukraine and not only. Russia is licking its wounds, Poland is celebrating a diplomatic mediation triumph and the West is learning a new European geopolitics. Warsaw has proved the main and effective mediator in the Ukrainian crisis, Newsweek observes and it adds that this is important for Poland, which aspires to the role of one of the main players in the European Union’s eastern policy.

The lay catholics weekly Tygodnik Powszechny devotes six pages to Ukraine, frontpaging a hope inspiring photo of a protester in Kiev, carrying oranges and an orange rose, the color of independence. Attached to each issue is also an orange sticker, referring to the Ukrainian struggle for democracy and to Poland’s switch to democracy in 1989. We are witnessing the emergence of a civic society in Ukraine, which is shedding Soviet-era constraints. The strongest support for this process came from Poland, which also made the European Union take note of what is happening next to its eastern border. Something very important is happening in this part of Europe. This is a chance for Ukraine, for Poland and for Europe, the weekly writes.

On a different note, Newsweek turns the spotlight on young Poles playing with death to experience a surge of adrenaline. Riding under the elevator, running in front of speeding cars, jumps from chimney towers are some of the ways to deal with frustration. A group called Merciless Harvesters first spend some 90 minutes to tie ropes under the elevator in high-rise apartment blocks, to ride later up and down attached underneath, not knowing whether the counterbalance will not hit them or if they do not crash upon metal coils on the bottom of the shaft. Recently, two youths have been run over by a train. Official police reports say that it was an accident. This is what other youth witnesses testified. But it may soon turn out that they died as a result of a bet and they won but lost to death.

posted by: Oborski at 18:30 | link | comments |

By Sławomir Majman
From Warsaw Voice

“I am a Kievan,” is what most Polish politicians would like to shout today, paraphrasing John F. Kennedy.
The Polish Sejm was decked out in orange, the color of Viktor Yushchenko. Polish Euro-deputies rooted for the demonstrating oppositionists in Kiev’s Independence Square. Almost all the Polish media have accepted as the gospel truth the Ukrainian opposition’s claim that the elections were fraudulent. There has never been such a deep and emotional involvement of political Poland in the internal affairs of another country. In terms of supporting Yushchenko, the Poles sprinted ahead of the rest of Europe, and this is fervent and unconditional support. For Warsaw politicians and media, Yushchenko means democracy, the road to freedom, the consolidation of independence. His opponent Yanukovych means Sovietization, corruption and submission to Russia. A black-white picture, without nuances or doubts.

The campaign of civil disobedience being conducted by Yushchenko’s supporters has to arouse friendly feelings in Poland, if only because it brings up associations with Lech Wałęsa’s Solidarity from a quarter of a century ago. The similarity, even if exalted and appealing to the imagination, is only a seeming one. A long-time bank dignitary is not a charismatic electrician elevated spontaneously by the workers, and the independent though poorly governed Ukraine is not the totalitarian Poland of the past. The rebellion of Kiev and western Ukrainian cities, the rebellion of the cheated arouses sympathy, but - truth be told - it’s not even certain who really won the elections in Ukraine.

If any country in Europe should proceed with caution and show maximum responsibility with regard to what’s going on in Ukraine, that country is Poland.

■ The Poles should proceed with caution because they are Poles, because the history of Polish-Ukrainian relations is what it is.
This is how that history looks from the Ukrainian side: “On a too narrow strip of land between two seas is the home of the Ukrainians and their permanent foes for a thousand years - the Poles, or Lachs,” wrote Panteleimon Kulish, one of the rousers of the Ukrainian national spirit, a century ago. “And hatred, fed by centuries of disappointment, has led them together to a contemptuous madness. They are like two lions, Ukrainians and Poles - they claw at each other’s chests, right down to the place where their hearts beat.”

This naturalistic description found confirmation in recent times as well. When Poland regained its independence in 1918, bloody Polish-Ukrainian fighting immediately broke out. The young Ukrainians and Poles killed in the fighting for Lviv found a permanent place in both national Pantheons.

Once the war was over, there came what the Ukrainians - the ones from the country’s western part - consider to have been their worst experience with the Poles. Four million Ukrainians found themselves within Poland’s borders - powerful explosives laid under the wall of the Polish Republic. On one hand, the Ukrainians quickly discovered a new link in the national movement - a terrorist conspiracy against the Polish state. The intensity of Ukrainian terror in the 1920s and ‘30s can only be compared with the peak of IRA activity. On the other hand, the Polish authorities, unable to cope with the Ukrainian separatists, chose the worst way out—applying collective responsibility. The most painful thorns to this day are the repressions towards helpless people: pacification of villages, humiliation of human dignity, repressions of legal Ukrainian schools, banks, cultural and sports organizations, cruelty of the Polish policemen. This persecution hardened the Ukrainians—hardened them in their hatred towards the Poles.

The war defeat of 1939, on the other hand, brought what was the Poles’ worst experience with the Ukrainians. It gave the Ukrainians a sense of indescribable satisfaction to see the Polish tragedy. Things started with the spontaneous murders of Polish soldiers, the annihilation of the Polish intellectual elite in Lviv, and led to the formation of Ukrainian units in SS uniforms. The collective massacre of Poles inhabiting Ukrainian lands began in 1942. The Ukrainians grabbed axes, pitchforks and ropes. The victims of these ethnic purges were more than 100,000 Polish civilians.

Such a past is not easy to overcome. With such baggage, the words the Ukrainians hear from the Poles today could mean something different than the words of, for example, the Americans. The pain is too fresh to be erased by the brief period of Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation, which was actually a process coming from the top, from presidents Kwaśniewski and Kuchma.

■ The Poles should proceed with caution because the fiasco of Poland’s efforts is too recent for Poles to become a bridge linking Ukraine with the West.
Poland was the first country in the world to recognize Ukraine’s independence in 1991. From the start of President Kwaśniewski’s term in office, Warsaw encouraged Kiev with all its strength to get closer to NATO and the European Union. For years, the Polish president played the role of the main Western probation officer and attorney of Leonid Kuchma.

Quite recently, and not without reason, there was talk of the Warsaw-Kiev axis, of Ukraine as Poland’s closest ally in the East. When Poles and Ukrainians saw their presidents in a bear hug in Lviv, a city that divided the two nations in the past, it was widely commented that reconciliation had become a fact. Soon it was to turn out that it was easier to achieve reconciliation in the sphere of symbols than to change Ukraine’s strategy from a pro-Russian to a pro-Western one. What was meant to be the greatest international success of Kwaśniewski’s term—pulling Kiev towards the West—became the greatest illusion of the time. Even worse, one couldn’t avoid the impression that the old fox Kuchma had used Kwaśniewski as a fig leaf.

The failure of Poland’s Ukrainian policy was not just due to the fact that Poland ran out of ways and means. First and foremost, it was the West - and especially Brussels - which treated Kiev so condescendingly that there was no way of outweighing the traditional pull towards Russia.

Such a recent fiasco of Poland’s deep involvement in the Ukrainian cause should be a lesson in caution. It’s not a good idea to make yourself a laughing stock twice: first because you had enthusiastically bet on the ruling camp, and the second time—with equal enthusaism support the opposition.

■ Poles should proceed with special cuation, because Ukraine is cracked.
The crack is not just political, but mainly - regional.
Yushchenko has the firm support of the whole of western Ukraine - where national feelings are well-developed, but also where nationalism is strong. Supporting Yushchenko, the Poles are supporting a camp that, yes, is more pro-Western and pro-reform, but with a strong nationalist leaning. On the wave of freedom euphoria in Warsaw, people have forgotten the shocking nationalist views uttered by Yushchenko’s right hand—millionaire Yulia Tymoshenko, nor did they notice that among the sea of orange ribbons, you could see the threatening tridents—a symbol of Ukrainian terrorists. Lviv, Tarnopol, Ivano-Frankovsk are fortresses of the opposition, but they are bastions of nationalism at the same time, and in Ukraine nationalism is always anti-Polish.

Maybe Yushchenko has his own recipe for toning down the nationalism, but in Eastern Europe the nationalisms of the first half of the previous century, which were in hibernation under communism, have an amazingly sinister power and long life.

Ukraine is cracked, and the worst scenario for Poland, though an unlikely one, is Ukraine splitting into the eastern part, culturally and politically assimilated with its Russian neighbor, and the western part with its strong national profile, bordering on Poland.

■ The Poles should proceed with caution if they don’t want further deterioration of relations with Russia.
To say that Warsaw-Moscow relations aren’t too good is like saying New York City is biggish. Polish trade is losing out on this political climate. The things Moscow can tolerate from Schröder and Bush with respect to Ukraine, it will not forgive Polish politicians for in a long time.

The Russian elites have never accepted the degradation suffered by Russia after the Soviet Union fell apart. To Moscow, Ukraine is a natural area of direct interest.

Yes, Putin’s Russia is interfering in the situation in Ukraine, but from Moscow’s perspective it’s the Americans and Europe that are brutally interfering in Russia’s most important neighbor, at its nearest strategic border.

Russia is treating the extremely euphoric involvement of Polish politicians in supporting Yushchenko’s camp with a dangerous mixture of contempt and animosity.

Does this mean that for fear of ruining reelations with Putin, the Poles should keep quiet, just like Europe kept quiet for a long time? No, that would be immoral. Poland’s place is among the other European countries, and neutral arbtitrage, including Poland’s, seems essential. The kind of arbitrage that Kwaśniewski’s mission to Kiev represents. Otherwise no one will be able to govern in such a polarized country.

The developments in Ukraine are a threat for Poland. But, they could also become an opportunity to start untangling the knot of Polish-Ukrainian relations.

posted by: Oborski at 19:34 | link | comments |

From Warsaw Voice

"Soup should be thickened with earthworms, the only inedible part of a rat is the tail, and the best way to steal a pig is with a fishing rod, because it can't squeal with a hook in its snout."
-Col. Roman Polko, former head of the elite commando unit GROM, on obtaining food in extreme conditions

"His forecasts never pan out; you have to take what he says, reverse it, and then it's accurate-more or less."
-Marek Borowski, leader of the Polish Social Democracy (SDPL), on Krzysztof Martens, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) in Podkarpacie region

"I realize not everyone wishes me well, but even Christ had only 20-percent support in his hometown."
-Renata Beger, a Samoobrona deputy, when asked about the political leanings of residents of her village

"The propellant was to be provided by aerosol deodorants, and the cannon was to be presented at a creativity class at school. We gave up a psychiatric examination of the suspects because we decided they were telling the truth."
-A representative of the prosecutor's office in Zielona Góra on two 18-year-olds who stole two plastic pipes from a building site and wanted to produce a cannon according to instructions found on the Internet

"We used 40 kilos of smoked pork fat and 100 kilos of bread. That was guarded by 20 police officers and soldiers. We were afraid the food might have been eaten up ahead of time."
-A representative of the city authorities of Simferopol, Ukraine, where the world's biggest sandwich was prepared as part of a festival of local culinary traditions

"The statement is indispensable because they will have to spend a lot of money on the election campaign."
-An activist of a Romanian political party that requires its candidates to submit their wives' written permission for running in the parliamentary elections

posted by: Oborski at 19:30 | link | comments |

From Warsaw Voice

1 December 2004

The political and social crisis in Ukraine has reopened a debate regarding the character of Ukrainian-Polish relations and the plausibility of continuing Warsaw's present policy towards Kiev.

That policy, frequently defined as a strategic partnership, was intended and to a certain extent actually relied on Poland's support for political and economic transformations in Ukraine. Poland attempted to support its neighbor's efforts to introduce a market economy and democratize a fully sovereign state of Ukraine. The ultimate goal was to bring the country closer to the West and the European Union states as well as help it develop trans-Atlantic cooperation.

In defining its policy towards Ukraine, Poland did not hide the policy's character as a western option for Ukraine, that is, increasingly close political and economic contacts with the West. From the Polish point of view, this was an implementation of raison d'état, according to which Poland would benefit from bordering on a democratic Ukraine, a country inclined to cooperate with the West and not entangled in obscure economic and political ties with Russia.

Shortly after Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission announced the results of the second round of voting, President Aleksander Kwaśniewski said in Warsaw: "The elections in Ukraine were without a doubt partly fraudulent." Other Polish politicians shared this opinion. Minister of Foreign Affairs Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz said he hoped Ukrainian authorities would announce a recount of votes in the presidential elections. Otherwise, he warned, democratic countries would have difficulty accepting the initial results. Adam Rotfeld, deputy minister of foreign affairs, was also critical of Ukrainian electoral standards, and said openly: "What concerns us is the infringement on rules and standards in democratic elections that should have become a sort of a test for the state of law, which in recent years has been built in Ukraine."

Bogdan Borusewicz, one of the leaders of the Polish Solidarity movement and an independent observer for the Polish-Ukrainian Forum during the elections, did not hesitate to talk about the complete falsification of the elections by Ukrainian authorities. "The method most frequently applied in Ukraine was 'rotating' voting," Borusewicz said. "A few people were given a number of certificates entitling the bearer to vote in different constituencies. They then proceeded to made their rounds and voted. In this way, a very positive result with only a handful of people was possible."

Politicians of left-wing parties, normally reluctant to voice critical opinions about President Leonid Kuchma's ruling camp in Ukraine, were also disillusioned after watching Ukrainian authorities fail the democracy exam. Andrzej Celiński of the Polish Social Democracy (SDPL) spoke of questioning the reliability of Ukrainian electoral procedures, which suggests that the results could "hardly be regarded as true."

The post-election crisis is a clear indication that the Ukrainian public is developing into a civil society, one that is gradually abandoning the Soviet pattern of life and beginning to understand its own interests. In this context, Borusewicz said: "There is enormous public mobilization, comparable only to 1980 in Poland. First and foremost, the young have taken to the streets." Rotfeld also says that unlike its authorities, Ukrainian society passed the test of democracy: "The Ukrainian public has proved its maturity and wisdom. In other words, Ukraine is different after the elections."

Naturally, it would be a mistake to credit Poland and Poland's Ukrainian policy exclusively for the transformation observed among Ukrainian citizens. Nevertheless, Poland's openness to Ukrainians, free visas for Ukrainian citizens, active contacts between Poles and Ukrainians, the work of Polish-Ukrainian non-governmental organizations to support democratic ideas, which are encouraged thanks to Poland's foreign policy, were all factors in spreading awareness of the benefits of democracy and the market economy within a large part of Ukrainian society. These factors laid the foundation for Ukrainians' protests on the streets of Kiev and many other cities in Ukraine. Poland's policy of openness towards Ukraine, maintenance of close relations with the country and its citizens in particular, have brought positive effects.

Through its diplomats and politicians, Poland had for years called upon western partners in countries of the "old" EU for a greater interest in Ukrainian affairs. Poland saw itself as Ukraine's advocate on the country's road to the structures of the western world. Polish politicians said that, left to its own devices, Ukraine would soon become an area of Russia's economic and political expansion. Poland's initiatives met with a variety of reactions including raised eyebrows and irritation, but were seldom taken seriously. This November, however, proved Polish politicians and analysts were right.

Polish deputies in the European Parliament initiated the institution's campaign to raise interest in Ukraine. Grażyna Staniszewska, an observer of the Ukrainian elections for the European Parliament, commented the process: "A lot of issues are initiated by Poles, but we are enormously happy that deputies from the old EU, the old 15, have for the first time actively joined in the debate."

Alongside the presidents of Poland and Lithuania, talks between Kuchma, Viktor Yanukovych and Viktor Yushchenko involved the head of the EU's diplomacy Javier Solana, which demonstrated that Poland's efforts in constructing a coherent Ukrainian policy were not in vain. Poland's consistent support for Ukraine in its systemic transformations and constant efforts to make EU partners take notice of Ukraine provoked genuine interest in the West in light of the dramatic events in Kiev after the elections.

In recent weeks, Polish politicians have reiterated that it is not their job to decide who should become the president of Ukraine. The essential question is whether the democratic process in Ukraine will continue and involve the ruling camp. SDPL leader Marek Borowski mentioned this issue before the second round of the elections: "Of course we have our preferences, we want Ukraine to be closer to Europe. But this is not the most important thing, because the Ukrainians will make that choice. It is important that this happens with no 'miracles' in the ballot box."

A similar thought on the Ukrainian crisis was contained in an address that members of the Polish parliament made to the Supreme Council of Ukraine: "The Sejm of Poland hopes the eventual result of the elections will reflect the actual will of the Ukrainian nation... Do whatever is in your power to make truth, freedom and democracy win... We are convinced the citizens of Ukraine want to live in an independent, democratic country governed in a fair way. That is the Ukraine which Europe and the world need."

When Borowski presented the address in the parliament, he stressed that Ukrainian efforts required resolute support from Europe and the entire free world. "This is an immense task for Polish diplomacy-to persuade the EU to take a position sooner and make it firm, to communicate that the fate of Ukraine cannot be sacrificed at the altar of relations with Russia," he said.

The Polish president has said repeatedly that Ukraine's relations with Russia are only natural, but have to rely on honest and clear rules. "Yushchenko is unable to conduct a policy which does not take Russia into account," Kwaśniewski said recently. "Ukraine needs Russia as a political and economic partner." According to the president, Poland "does what it should-it involves the international public in support for free and democratic elections in Ukraine. The election winner will be determined by Ukrainians and we will, naturally, respect their decision and cooperate with the elected president of Ukraine."

Kwaśniewski's opinion matches that of Rotfeld. The Polish diplomat points to the fact that Poland's relations with Ukraine will always be of strategic significance. "Regardless of how they rise to power, leaders in different countries come and go," Rotfeld said. "However, the society, the nation remains. It would be a mistake on our part to decide that due to the elections, Ukraine should be isolated or boycotted. The attitude to Ukraine's authorities is, in turn, a different matter. In other words, Ukraine will remain our strategic partner, but our relations with Ukrainian authorities will depend on how they react to what has happened in Ukraine in the past few days."

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Cracow, Nov. 29: Our position in the EU if far stronger than our economic situation would suggest, said PM Marek Belka in a lecture in an economic university. He added that the first months of membership of the EU brought many surprises to both Polish and European public opinion. The Polish public had underestimated the benefits to be reaped by Polish farmers, food industry and transport companies from the opening of the EU agricultural markets and borders, Belka opined. The only negative impact of accession to the EU were price increases, Belka claimed. He warned that the opening of labour markets in a growing number of the "old" EU countries could lead to siphoning off young, skilled workers from Poland. Poland's position in the EU was stronger than our economic situation would suggest, Belka claimed, and the reason was our political activity and membership of NATO, good relations with the USA and the eastern dimension of our policy. "Our presence in Iraq, although controversial at home and costly, is clearly a trump card inside the EU, not a burden," Belka claimed. "There are countries which treat Poland more seriously because of this presence, even if they are not EU members and do not like the fact that some European countries are present in Iraq. What matters sometimes is not support, but respect," he emphasized.

Cracow, Nov.29: PM Marek Belka believes there are slim chances for an agreement on the next EU budget by mid-2005. He said that talks on the 2007-2013 EU budget were "a trial by fire for Poland's real position in the EU." "The talks will likely take longer than mid-2005 to finish which means that the finish will coincide with a change of government in Poland," Belka noted. "This is bad, because the new cabinet will have to learn on the job which creates the danger of losing a number of issues," he warned. Belka said Poland was among the six EU countries that engaged in consultations over the budget and proposed certain compromise solutions to the rest of EU members.

Cracow, Nov. 29: PM Marek Belka said that ongoing talks in Ukraine should also focus on ways designed to secure Ukraine's cohesion and stability. The PM did not rule out that President Aleksander Kwasniewski would go to Ukraine again in the coming days. The PM expressed the hope that there would be no split in Ukraine. He also stressed that the "winner takes all" rule would not be the best solution for Ukraine. The PM said that Ukrainians and president Leonid Kuchma asked President Kwasniewski and Poland to mediate in the talks. Belka also told that Poland's involvement in Ukraine and its role in ongoing talks was "undoubtedly consolidating Poland's prestige in the EU".

Kiev, Nov. 29: Sejm Speaker Jozef Oleksy has said Poland was firmly against any form of separatism in Ukraine. This message was conveyed to Ukraine's PM Victor Yanukovich by a Polish Sejm delegation, led by chamber's Speaker Jozef Oleksy, that went to Ukraine to present, to the Ukrainian Supreme Council, an appeal passed by the Sejm in which the Polish MP’s urged Ukraine not to spare effort to let "win truth, freedom and democracy in the country." Oleksy said that Yanukowicz confirmed the willingness to repeat the run-off election in regions where its results were contested but excluded the possibility of repeating it nation-wide. After meeting Yanukovich the delegation was received by Ukraine's outgoing President Leonid Kuchma. Both meetings, held in Kuchma's residence in Koncha Zaspa, near Kiev, were held behind closed doors. Together with the Sejm delegation a three-strong "good services mission," appointed by President Aleksander Kwasniewski left for Ukraine to help solve the post-election political crisis there. According to deputy Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld the delegation may pave the way for a possible, successive visit of President Kwasniewski to Ukraine.

Warsaw, Nov. 29: Finance Minister Miroslaw Gronicki expressed the hope that President Aleksander Kwasniewski would not sign an amended PIT tax law. In mid-November the Sejm passed the amended PIT tax law under which taxpeyers with annual income exceeding ca. 187000 USD will have to pay a 50 percent PIT rate. Over 4,000 taxpayers will be affected by the amendment. The Finance Ministry opposed the proposal during legislative work. In this way the Sejm approved the fourth tax bracket. At present Poland has three personal income tax brackets, at 19, 30, and 40 percent. If new tax regulations are to come into effect on January 1, 2005, they must be published in the Journal of law before November 30, 2004.

Cracow, Nov. 29: The government will unveil a plan to lower the basic VAT rate to 19 from 22 percent within a few weeks, deputy PM Jerzy Hausner said. "We want to find a path to lower the basic VAT rate in order to build a strong impulse to activate consumption and create a competitively better position to use structural funds and for investors to compete with investors from other countries," Hausner told. In his opinion the basic VAT rate should be 19 percent but he stressed, "if we do not want a big shortfall in the budget, we must decide to eliminate the 0 and 3 percent rates and leave only the 7 percent rate only on what is indispensable."

Cracow, Nov. 29: Deputy PM Jerzy Hausner said that the zloty would continue to firm and ruled out intervention on the forex market at present. "The strong zloty is beginning to be a problem for exporters whom we need to care for as exporters are generating the majority of our economic growth," Hausner said. He added then that the government might ask the central bank to intervene if the zloty gets too strong. "This situation cannot be ignored, so if exports slow, those responsible for the economy should take zloty rates into consideration". The zloty strengthened 17 percent against the dollar and 11.1 percent against the euro from the start of the year.

Brussels, Nov.29: A majority of EU countries, including Poland, refused to support a Greece proposal under which the EU would introduce an automatic mechanism of reducing the excise tax and VAT to compensate for growing oil prices. Deputy economy minister Jacek Piechota who represented Poland at the session of the council on energy explained later that such a mechanism would be unjust for national budgets, producing declines in revenues. He recalled that tax policy was the domain of national decisions and said the Greek proposal, supported by Italy and France, had little chances of being adopted. The energy ministers from EU states criticised a draft directive of the EU Commission calling for each country to reduce its energy consumption by 1 pc each year. Poland does not want to make such a pledge because, as Piechota explained, its energy consumption is three times lower than in the old EU countries. A growing energy use is inevitable in step with economic growth in Poland, he argued.

Warsaw, Nov. 29: "The Europeans fell in love with Polish products and representatives of foreign super- and hypermarkets sensed good business here and are boosting exports of Polish goods," the Zycie daily wrote. "The German Metro Group concern (the owner of Real, Praktiker, Media Markt and others chains) in cooperation with the agriculture ministry are planning to set up a working group to draw up a joint plan of action to promote Polish commodities on foreign markets. Next year "Polish Week" will be organised in Germany's Metro shops". "British Tesco-commissioned auditors that inspected Polish producers also noticed that the strengths of Polish producers include: large production and export potential, very good production technology, high quality of products and low risk from vermins and diseases".

Warsaw, Nov. 29: Paintings, sculptures, video art, installations and photography are on show at an exhibition titled "Beyond the Red Horizon" at the Centre for Contemporary Art (CSW). Fifty Polish and Russian artists present works created after 2000. The display is designed as a supplement to the "Warsaw-Moscow / Moscow 1900-2000" exhibition mounted earlier in Warsaw's Zacheta Gallery. Both events are part of the Russian Season currently held in Poland. The key idea behind the exhibition in the CSW are common experiences, great social and political transformations of Poland and Russia over the past dozen years or so is which link Polish and Russian artists, the curators explain. The title of the exhibition was inspired by the picture "Red Horizon" painted by Erik Bulatov in 1972, which has become a soc-art icon. The exhibition will be on show in Warsaw till mid-January and moved to Moscow in March.

Warsaw, Nov. 29: President of the International Federation of Europe Houses (FIME) Arno Krause has received the Commandor's Cross of the Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for his contribution to the development of European social movements and the promotion of the idea of integration of European nations. On behalf of President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Krause was decorated by Secretary of State at the Presidential Chancellery Dariusz Szymczycha. During the ceremony Krause underlined the special role Poland plays in the EU due to its borders that are the EU external frontiers. Krause's efforts for European integration were crowned in 2000 when a FIME branch called the "European House" Polish association was set up in Poland and by Poland's admittance to the EU in 2004.

Warsaw, Nov. 29: Thirty-five percent of Poles over 15 in an Ipsos poll have not read a single book in the last 6 months. 10 percent would like to compete in a fast reading contest. 61 percent declared to have read at least 1 book in the past 6 months, women constituting 70 and men 58 percent of this group. 23 percent claimed they read fast, 58 percent said they were medium readers. Fast reading skills were declared by more women (27 pct) than men (19 pct). Ipsos ran the survey from November 5 to 9 on a random group of 1,000 Poles aged 15 and over.

Warsaw, Nov. 29: The Citizens' Platform (PO) would secure 25 percent of public support if the general elections were held late in November, the PGB polling institution has found. Runner up would be the Law and Justice with support of 16 percent, followed by the League of Polish Families (13 percent) and the Self-defence (also 13 percent). The Democratic Left Alliance would receive a 6 percent support. The Freedom Union, the National Pensioner Party, the Centre Initiative, the Union of Labour, the Catholic-National Movement and the Real Politics Union would not cross the 5-percent threshold for parliamentary representation. The poll was carried out on November 20-23 on a representative sample of 1,071 adult Poles.

Warsaw, Nov. 29: The website of the Onet portal is the most popular Internet page in Poland, known by 96 pct of the respondents using the Internet, according to a recent TNS OBOP poll. Wirtualna Polska placed second (known by 91 pct) and Interia was third (77 pct). Next came the portal of Gazeta Wyborcza (59 pct of Poles claiming to use the web regularly), Google (55 pct), Yahoo (43 pct) and Allegro (43 pct).

TNS OBOP ran the poll in October 2004 on a representative sample of 1,000 adult Poles.

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Poland's aid for Asia disaster victims

Four Poles probably killed in Thailand

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President receives Sejm Speaker

President conveys Christmas, New Year wishes to armed forces

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PM, Foreign minister: Poland satisfied with EU summit outcome

PM Belka predicts stable economic growth

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News from Poland...

President, defence minister attend mass for fallen soldiers

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Three Polish soldiers die in helicopter crash in Iraq

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