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08/24/2020

07:21

Monday's Political Agenda: Morawiecki at Vision of Development Forum, Hołownia on Healthcare, Piontkowski on the New School Year

At 10:00 AM, a press briefing will be held in front of the Ministry of Health, where the leader of the Poland 2050 movement, Szymon Hołownia, along with experts from the collaborating think tank Strategie 2050, will address the current healthcare system, present proposals for necessary changes, and comment on current events.

At 12:30 PM, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will participate in the opening session of the third edition of the Vision of Development Forum in Gdynia, and at 1:40 PM, he will meet with participants of the third edition of the Vision of Development '20 Hackathon.

At 1:30 PM, a press briefing by the Minister of National Education will take place in Płonka Kościelna in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The topic of the conference will be preparations for the start of the new 2020/2021 school year.


08:00

Dworczyk:

Invitation to Parliamentary Clubs for Meeting on Belarus Situation Next Wednesday

- We believe that the issue of Eastern policy, our neighbor, and what is happening in Belarus, is indeed a matter that should be taken out of the scope of current political disputes. Last week, on behalf of the Prime Minister, I conducted a series of political consultations. Today, the Prime Minister will issue an official invitation to the leaders of all political parties for next Wednesday, when we want to present all the actions that have already been implemented at the EU forum and internally in Poland. Secondly, we want to discuss further actions with the representatives of political parties and clubs, because undoubtedly this situation will not end quickly in Belarus. These are not events that will be concluded this week. We must prepare for a longer period of operating in this particular situation - stated Michał Dworczyk in an interview with Krzysztof Skórzyński on TVN24's "Jeden na jeden".

- Today, an official invitation will be sent from the Chancellery of the Prime Minister to the representatives of all parliamentary clubs, to all political formations, inviting Prime Minister Morawiecki to a meeting next Wednesday, the topic of which will be the situation in Belarus - emphasized the Head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.


08:10

Dworczyk:

Schools to Receive Nearly 4 Million Liters of Disinfectant, Over 50 Million Masks

- Currently, procedures are being developed, and at the same time, the Ministry of Health, in consultation with the Ministry of National Education, is sending protective equipment to schools. Schools will receive, among other things, nearly 4 million liters of disinfectant fluid, and over 50 million masks will be distributed to all educational facilities. These preparations are ongoing, and Minister Piontkowski is excellently coordinating these activities. These are not masks that are mandatory for students. These masks will be distributed among teachers, and there may be situations where they are also provided to older students, meaning those in higher grades. There is also the issue of sizes. Please note that we are not only talking about the use or non-use of these masks at school but also during commutes to school. In short, we want to secure educational institutions to such an extent that it can be said they have been maximally prepared to function in this new reality that we have had to face - stated Michał Dworczyk in the program "Jeden na jeden" on TVN24.


08:18

Dworczyk:

Łódź Education Superintendent Removed in Line with Regulations, Cites Systemic Issues

- The Łódź Education Superintendent has been removed, contrary to what some politicians claim, in accordance with current regulations. To my knowledge, this is due to matters concerning the organization and functioning of the education system in the Łódź Voivodeship. This decision was made before the statement you just quoted [about the LGBT virus] and linking these facts is unsubstantiated - stated Michał Dworczyk on TVN24's "Jeden na jeden".


08:25

Dworczyk on Solidarna Polska's Stance: Direct Conversation, Not Through the Media, is the Best Solution

- It is normal for coalition partners to talk to each other. This dialogue is part of the United Right's politics. We also conduct such dialogue, of course. However, I think the best solution is direct conversation, not conversation through the media. I believe that we should discuss internal coalition matters among ourselves. At least, I have always tried to act this way and I intend to stick to this principle, rather than talking through the media – stated Michał Dworczyk in "Jeden na jeden" on TVN24, referring to Solidarna Polska's position on the dismissal of the Łódź superintendent of education.


08:34

Fogiel on Reconstruction: It Will Be a Change in the Philosophy of the Council of Ministers' Functioning to Some Extent. We Want to Break More Strongly with the Concept of Departmental Poland.

- It will be a change in the philosophy of the Council of Ministers' functioning and the entire government to some extent. We want to break more strongly with the concept of departmental Poland. The talks are proceeding well, but you, Mr. Editor, are aware that one of the elements for them to proceed well is that we are not discussing them in the media – said Radosław Fogiel in an interview with Marcin Wikło on TVP1's "Political Quarter of an Hour".


08:44

Fogiel:

We have deep hope that a lockdown won't happen. At the same time, you can never say something with absolute certainty

- We have a deep hope that a lockdown won't happen, that there won't be a situation that requires such drastic measures. At the same time, as Minister [Patkowski] says, you can never say something with absolute certainty, because the epidemic doesn't inform us of its intentions in advance – said Radosław Fogiel on TVP1.


08:49

Hołownia:

I hope the new Foreign Minister quickly demonstrates he's interested in important matters, not just nonsense like the fight against LGBT ideology. Today, together with Lithuania, we should be taking a strong stance on Belarus.
"I hope the new Foreign Minister quickly demonstrates he's interested in important matters, not just nonsense like the fight against LGBT ideology. Today, together with Lithuania, we should be taking a strong stance on Belarus," said Szymon Hołownia during a morning BF live meeting.

10:32

Ministry of Health: 548 New Coronavirus Infections in Poland, 5 Deaths

https://twitter.com/MZ_GOV_PL/status/1297813454909313026

https://twitter.com/MZ_GOV_PL/status/1297813457157459973


10:42

Hołownia's Healthcare Plan: Coronavirus Hotline, Rapid Tests, Clear Procedures for Asymptomatic Quarantine Release, Increased Flu Vaccination Rates

- Firstly, a coronavirus hotline to help us quickly and efficiently obtain information regarding the procedures we are subject to, and secondly, opening hospital doors to those suffering from illnesses other than COVID who urgently need help, which can be achieved by introducing rapid tests to Poland, tests that are available to other governments, other countries around the world – said Szymon Hołownia during a press conference.

- Thirdly, clear procedures and the release of asymptomatic individuals from quarantine. Fourthly, and finally, bringing about a situation where the flu vaccination rate in Poland will radically increase – he continued.

- There is nothing more important today than the health and lives of citizens. We will come here every 23rd of each month, and until the epidemic subsides, we will remind people of this, demonstrate it, hold the government accountable, draw attention to it, ask what has been done, and show what can be done to save ourselves and our loved ones – added Hołownia.


12:09

BGK Vice President: Over 30,000 Entrepreneurs Benefited from BGK Support Instruments, Primarily Guarantees, Worth Around PLN 25 Billion. This is a Significant Boost for Maintaining Liquidity and Keeping SMEs in the Market.
"Consistency is the key challenge. Consistency in utilizing the support opportunities that are already available today and consistency in modifying strategies. Every future is difficult to predict, and now it is burdened with even less certainty, hence flexibility is the greatest challenge," said Włodzimierz Kocon, Vice President of BGK, during the Development Vision Forum. "Demand, investments, and money – these are three essential factors for us, as an economy and its beneficiaries, to seize opportunities and even more successfully return to the growth pace we had. Money enables investments and also stimulates demand in Poles' pockets. Small, medium, and large entrepreneurs can benefit from a great many support instruments; it is worth recalling the four shields. Over 30,000 entrepreneurs have benefited from BGK's support instruments, primarily from guarantee instruments, for approximately PLN 25 billion. This is not a small injection for maintaining liquidity and keeping small and medium-sized companies in the market, which generate the bulk of GDP and are the main recipients of BGK's instruments," Kocon stated.

12:27

KGHM CEO: Polish Copper Powers the World, Lodz Region Outperforms Sicily
- I look at copper prices and trade agreements, and my worst nightmare was that we would have to close a mining or smelting plant due to the pandemic. But we didn't have to, because we utilized the best global experiences and implemented safety procedures. Over 32,000 people work in our capital group. Copper prices significantly improved in the second quarter; we were able to maintain production and achieved the plans we had set even before the pandemic. However, the threat still exists, and we fight this battle every day. We are proud of achieving our goals, and the stock market acknowledges this, - said KGHM CEO Marcin Chludziński during a panel at the Development Vision Forum. - There is optimism because we had a good first half of the year, but much depends on copper and silver prices and the epidemiological situation, - Chludziński added. - These are metals of the future, and due to our technological investments, we are in a good position, - said the KGHM CEO. - The last few years show how far we have come. The Lodz agglomeration, perceived as not being at the forefront of development, today has better indicators than Sicily. To a large extent, this is due to government policy, which was evident in the case of the shields and reactions to the crisis caused by the pandemic, and this helped us to navigate this crisis with the least possible impact on us, - said Chludziński. - I believe in Polish resilience and the adaptability of Polish entrepreneurs. With appropriate cash supply policies and government interventions, we are managing, - said the KGHM CEO. - Statistically, in one out of every six smartphones in the world, there is our copper or our silver, - said Chludziński. - We are focusing on the green copper trend, meaning the least impactful extraction. Our goal is to Polish centers of profit. We are undergoing a green transformation; it is worth considering the Polish production of trending sectors – wind and photovoltaic technologies, acquiring these productions so that profit centers remain in Poland, - said Chludziński.

12:27

Klarecka:

The New Multi-Energy Group Will Be Able to Invest in New Energy Transformation Technologies, Requiring Up to 380 Billion Euros
- From the very beginning, we took actions to protect our employees from the pandemic. We have 1,800 petrol stations that operated continuously during the pandemic. Our strategic direction now is the merger with Lotos; acquiring shares in Energa helped us stabilize our results, which are higher than last year - said Patrycja Klarecka, a member of Orlen's management board, at the Vision for Development Forum. - The crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic was different, but there is also hope that it will be overcome more quickly - Klarecka stated. - The merger with Lotos is not an end in itself; it is meant to build a multi-energy group that will stimulate development in our part of Europe – to transition to innovative activities, which are to be the engine of the Polish economy for the next 30 years. We need to invest in new energy transformation technologies, and this will require up to 380 billion Euros in investment, according to a McKinsey report. In many aspects, we have the opportunity to become a leader of change - Klarecka said. - I can imagine that in 30 years there will be no waste at all, because this problem will be technologically solved - Klarecka added when asked about the outlook for 2050.

13:31

PM:

The electoral quadrennial is behind us. Now we have over 3 years for cooperation. Cooperation between the government and the opposition. That's why I also invited representatives of all opposition parties present in parliament for a discussion on Belar

- Looking at how Poland has managed its economic problems so far, we are held up as an example. Recently, 'Die Welt' emphasized that we are economically resilient to the coronavirus. Again, I would prefer to look with humility and moderation at this data, at this information that flows about us and to us from around the world, because this fight, or perhaps even this war, of the modern world has certainly not yet ended. Its outcome also depends on the cohesion of the entire society, on whether the opposition will be able to understand that this quadrennial leap, it's a triple jump, and this was the electoral quadrennial leap, is behind us. That now we have over 3 years for cooperation. Cooperation between the government and the opposition. That's why I also invited representatives of all opposition parties present in parliament for a discussion on Belarus. Because this is the current hotbed. Here we must act together. The future of all Central Europe depends on how we solve this problem, this Gordian knot - stated Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during the opening session of the III Vision for Development Forum in Gdynia.


13:43

PM Morawiecki: Poland Has Navigated the Pandemic's Difficulties "Relatively Dry-Footed"

- Thank you to the presidents present here, the presidents of companies, enterprises, including state-owned, but also private ones, and through you, I also extend my thanks to all employees of the Polish industrial sector, the service sector, the export sector, and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, because thanks to you, we have managed to navigate these past few months of a difficult, very difficult, unexpected challenge, which is the epidemic, relatively dry-footed - stated Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during the opening session of the 3rd Development Vision Forum in Gdynia.


13:48

Morawiecki:

Today, as a political-economic class, both the ruling party and the opposition need fundamental, basic coherence

- A persistent bane of the Third Polish Republic during many of its periods was not love of country, but rather strange, fabricated slogans and issues that became leading topics. Surrogate issues, the 'warm water from the tap' kind of problems. Today, as a political-economic class, both the ruling party and the current opposition need coherence at an elementary, fundamental level. Especially since these elections, all recent elections, are behind us. And the vision of development, which you will discuss here at this forum, will depend to a significant extent on this coherence and ability to cooperate - stated Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during the opening session of the 3rd Development Vision Forum in Gdynia.


13:52

Henryk Wujec Awarded the Order of the White Eagle Posthumously by the President

- In recognition of outstanding contributions to the Republic of Poland, for distinguished service in state and public activities, President Andrzej Duda has posthumously awarded Henryk Wujec – a prominent anti-communist opposition activist – the Order of the White Eagle. On behalf of the President of the Republic of Poland, the Order, along with a letter from the President of the Republic of Poland, was presented to his family by Irena Zofia Romaszewska, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Poland and member of the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle, during the funeral ceremony at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw – the Chancellery of the President informed.


13:57

Piontkowski on School Preparations for the Academic Year: 'Directors I Spoke With Were Actually Pleased That National Guidelines Are Flexible Enough to Allow Them to Adapt School Operations to Local Conditions'
- We want students to return to in-person classes from September 1st. Hence my visit to several schools to check how directors have already prepared for this. In both these schools, I received information that the directors had reached agreements with teachers, parents, and also the founding body, and based on this, internal school operation regulations have already been created. The directors I spoke with were actually pleased that the national guidelines are flexible enough to allow them to adapt the school's mode of operation to local conditions - said Dariusz Piontkowski during a press conference. 

13:57

Sobolewski Writes to Twitter Demanding Explanations for Account Suspension:

Unjustified Step.

- I am contacting you regarding the unjustified suspension of my account (@AC_Sobol) on the social media platform Twitter. I have been a user of your platform for many years, and I am familiar with and adhere to its rules. I have never knowingly violated any of them. While remaining active online, I have never offended anyone, always striving to address others with respect, refraining from using vulgarities or formulations that could damage someone's good name. In other words, the posts and comments I publish are prepared with care, aimed at maintaining a tone within acceptable limits – wrote Krzysztof Sobolewski in a letter seen by 300POLITYKA.

- For these reasons, I received the news of my account suspension with consternation. The aforementioned circumstances lead me to consider such a step unjustified. Therefore, please accept my request for an explanation as to why my account has been suspended. At the same time, I kindly ask you to specify which part of my Twitter activity constitutes a violation of the platform's rules, and in particular – which of my posts or comments contains unjustified violence. This information is particularly important for me to avoid similar situations in the future. Without receiving information about the reasons for blocking my account, I consider your actions to be unlawful based on the arguments indicated below – the chairman of the PiS Executive Committee further writes in the letter. We publish a scan below.


19:51

Ziobro on dismissal of Łódź curator: I consider Minister Piontkowski a good minister for now, which doesn't mean I agree with him on every matter, and I am critical of the way this decision was made.

- I consider Minister Piontkowski a good minister for now, which doesn't mean I agree with him on every matter, and in this case [the dismissal of the Łódź curator], I am critical of the way this decision was made and communicated to our voters. Because this is very important to us. Especially at a time when a civilizational war is being waged in Poland – said Zbigniew Ziobro in an interview with Dorota Gawryluk on the program “Gość Wydarzeń” on Polsat News.


19:58

Ziobro:

We Didn't Target Szumowski. The Prime Minister Likely Spoke to the Minister Much More Often, So If Anyone Targeted Szumowski, It Was Morawiecki
'We did not target Minister Szumowski. Prime Minister Morawiecki probably spoke with Minister Szumowski much more often, so if anyone targeted Minister Szumowski, it was Prime Minister Morawiecki' - said Zbigniew Ziobro on Polsat News.

19:59

Ziobro on PiS's Bill Abolishing Officials' Liability for Actions During the Pandemic: "Solidarna Polska is Critically Disposed Towards This Proposal. We Believe That Exempting Criminal Liability for All Crimes Goes Decidedly Too Far."

- Regarding this provision you are referring to [the PiS bill abolishing officials' liability for actions during the pandemic], I am against this provision, as is Solidarna Polska. We believe it is an excessively far-reaching exemption from criminal liability for individuals, especially considering the COVID situation is what it is, but it is no longer a great surprise to us. Therefore, certain provisions that exempted criminal liability were introduced. However, such a broad scope, when it comes to Solidarna Polska, raises very serious doubts for us. We are always ready to discuss within the coalition, because discussions are what they are for; we are a large, professional entity and can talk. But at this moment, I can tell you that Solidarna Polska is critically disposed towards this proposal. This is because we believe that exempting criminal liability for all crimes goes decidedly too far – stated Zbigniew Ziobro in an interview with Dorota Gawryluk on Polsat News's "Gość Wydarzeń".


20:11

Ziobro:

Today, homosexual communities in Poland have all freedoms

- This is precisely the sphere of freedom. No, I am not for delegalization in any way. Today, homosexual communities in Poland have all freedoms. They have their clubs, their bookstores, their newspapers – stated Zbigniew Ziobro on Polsat News's "Gość Wydarzeń".