by fnfeurope

From Poland With Love – April

 

PART I: COVID-19 IN POLAND

 

(Some) Restrictions Lifted

After Easter, the Polish government announced its plans on how some of the restrictions introduced in response to the Covid-19 epidemic would be lifted. In the first period, parks and forest were open for the public. Bigger changes were planned for May 4th.

As part of the second stage of exiting the lockdown, Poland opened a number of facilities on the first day after the long weekend (May 1st and May 3rd are bank holidays in Poland). The list of facilities that were opened includes: Continue reading →

by fnfeurope

From Poland With Love – February

Topic of the month

The Race

After 2019’s pivotal elections for the Polish parliament, in which the PiS kept its hold on power, albeit slightly weakened without the majority in the upper chamber, Poles will soon have to make another important choice, this time for president. Poland will hold the first round of its presidential election on May 10th.

Half a dozen candidates are in the game, another 13 might be eliminated in March. Why so? The first official step of the registration process requires delivering 1.000 signatures to the National Electoral Committee. This step was completed by 19 candidates, including very exotic ones like Jan Zbigniew Potocki, self-appointed duke and anti-Semite. Now all of them have time until March 16th to deliver 100.000 signatures. Only six are expected to complete this task and find themselves on the ballots in May. And they are… Continue reading →

by fnfeurope

From Poland With Love – January

Topic of the month

1.000 Robes March & Beyond

After the Sejm approved the controversial law that would allow to discipline judges questioning the government’s reforms (read more in the previous issue of the Newsletter), associations of judges and lawyers organized the “1.000 Robes March” in Warsaw.

It was headed by a group of judges wearing robes and carrying banners that read “The right to independence” and “The right to Europe”. “It is not usual for us to go out in robes to protest against depriving people of their right to courts,” Krystian Markiewicz, president of the Polish Judges Association Iustitia and one of the march organizers, said. “We are doing this for the citizens,” he added. Continue reading →

by fnfeurope

From Poland With Love – December

 

Topic of the month

Balance of Powers Under Serious Threat (Again)

Sejm has passed a law allowing the government to fire judges opposed to judicial reforms, despite widespread opposition including protests in cities across the country. Under draft legislation, the government aims to prevent independent judges from ruling that their peers, nominated by a politicized body appointed by PiS, are not independent. Continue reading →

by fnfeurope

From Poland With Love – October

Topic of the month

Election Results

Everything is clear now. After a long campaign we know the final results of the elections, we know the composition of the new parliament, names of the newly elected members and who will lead the government for the next four year. But is it really all so clear and obvious? Less so than four years ago… Continue reading →