From today until Monday, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski will be on a visit to New York and Washington. The head of Polish diplomacy will participate in a session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the occupied territories of Ukraine and in a ministerial debate of the UN Security Council on the situation in Ukraine. He will also hold a series of bilateral meetings, including with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

In Washington, Minister Sikorski will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with whom he will discuss the war in Ukraine, Polish-American security cooperation, the fight against Russian disinformation, and preparations for this year's NATO summit in Washington. The heads of Polish and US diplomacy will also inaugurate the 15th Polish-American Strategic Dialogue.

At 10:00 AM, a three-day session of the Sejm will commence. The agenda includes, among other things, the second reading of the draft amendment to the Act on the National Oncology Network (at 10:00 AM) and information on the activities of the National Council of the Judiciary in 2022 (at 12:30 PM). At 3:00 PM, the Sejm will hear a report from the Minister of Sport and Tourism on the implementation of the Polish Tourism Voucher Act for the period from August 2020 to August 2023.

At 11:00 AM, in the Column Hall of the Sejm, a seminar titled “The State of the Rule of Law in Poland. Actions of Public Authorities After December 13, 2023. Voices of the Legal Community” will take place. The event will be opened by PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, and participants will include Mariusz Błaszczak, Michał Woś, and Patryk Jaki.

At 11:30 AM, the Minister of the Interior and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński, and the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, will attend the ceremony for the handover of fire trucks to the capital's firefighters. The meeting will take place at the Rescue and Firefighting Unit No. 5 in Warsaw.

At 7:00 PM, the Sejm's Justice and Human Rights Committee will consider and provide an opinion on the motion filed by PiS to express a vote of no confidence in the Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar.

• This is the first such case. I don't interfere in the politics of liquidators and I believe the essence of this action lies in the fact that a minister, a politician, should not be concerned with the program and how public media operate. However, in cases of appointment itself, of personal responsibility, I naturally have a role to play. And this case is special, because on one hand, there's a wave saying - there were good people there, don't touch them, outstanding journalists, which I agree with, for instance, I know Mr. Chlasta well and I have a good opinion of him, and on the other hand, there are voices saying - there should be no mercy for people who worked with PiS for 8 years – stated Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz in an interview with Marcin Fijołek on Polsat News' "Graffiti".
• There is a conflict, and I am in such a conflict that I recently replaced the [RDC] liquidator with a less controversial person. This is how it is [RDC], calmer, more balanced. Today you will find out, and I believe that in this matter, one needs to find a middle ground, and I am convinced that the new liquidator will handle it – he continued.

- First and foremost, liquidation is also a form of restructuring, meaning the restoration of proper order in companies. Liquidation can be revoked at any moment. It can also last a very long time. I remind you that we have a company like Art-B, which was famous in the 90s. It is still a company in liquidation to this day. I do not [foresee such a scenario for TVP], it is simply a transitional period - stated Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz in "Graffiti" on Polsat News.

- Let's be honest, this system that was created in the so-called public media by PiS has collapsed under the weight of its own vile nature, and it was obvious to everyone that it couldn't continue like this, except for those in Nowogrodzka and the people earning millions there. We are in a transitional period. Liquidation is one of the forms provided for by the Commercial Companies Code. It can be stopped at any time - stated Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz on Polsat News's "Graffiti".

- It seems that certainly the KRRiT, which is a constitutional body that should deal with this, no one will remove it from the Constitution. It must have its role, its weight, and it must be the actual place where this order is regulated. There is no other way, if only for constitutional reasons. The current KRRiT fulfills no function. Firstly, it has no influence on appointments, it was a PiS idea to bypass the law, to have its own media. Secondly, the current chairman Świrski illegally suspended funding for public media. He is not there to judge who is right and who is wrong. His obligation is to transfer funds to public media – stated Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz in "Graffiti" on Polsat News.

- Moreover, I believe we will still witness a certain legal dispute, and I fear it might also border on criminal law, concerning the way Chairman Świrski has acted. Yes, yes, it's obvious [a lawsuit], these funds rightfully belong to the companies. This is the law, and in my opinion, this law has been broken. We are currently gathering materials, by the way – he continued.

- Television will not have the kind of money it was getting under PiS. That's obvious. I estimate that this budget could decrease by at least one-third annually. I don't want to speak without basis here. I think it also depends largely on the work that needs to be done within the television. That's why this form of restructuring, which can be established by the act of liquidation itself, is being introduced – so that a certain operating system can be developed and costed. I can only say that there will definitely not be the gigantic earnings that there were in television – stated Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz in Polsat News's "Graffiti".

- The Marshal's Guard Commander came to me this morning with information, with apologies, stating that he had misled me and the Sejm Presidium. Ms. Katarzyna Sójka should not have been in this report. It was Ms. Agnieszka Górska. The Marshal's Guard has no doubts about this anymore. This was confronted with content that was also posted by Ms. Górska on social media. Entry times and images from the plenary hall were compared. There are no doubts here, and consequently, I instructed the commander to apologize to Ms. Sójka. I will also apologize to her - stated Szymon Hołownia in a conversation with journalists in the Sejm.

- Regarding the penalties, today the presidium decided that in this aspect, in the case of MP Sójka, this resolution will be amended, revoked, while the penalty for Ms. Górska will be addressed at the next presidium meeting - he continued.

- I laugh at this, because if someone has to resort to such forms of political struggle, it reflects poorly on them. I honestly don't know if PO paid someone to hate on Hołownia, but I understand we're talking about this person and what they wrote. Whenever I hear or read such things, I just think to myself that it's a terrible state of affairs if you're unable to debate publicly in any other way. It speaks only to the person doing the offending, not the person being offended - stated Szymon Hołownia in a conversation with journalists in the Sejm.

- No, absolutely not, [the Third Way] is not blocking [legal abortion in Poland]. Nothing of the sort is happening. Because he [Włodzimierz Czarzasty] is mistaken, we are not blocking it, the matter is clear, transparent, and understandable. I presented the procedures yesterday and how they are progressing at a press briefing. Some clubs, like Lewica, needed more time to deal with legislative requirements; for them, even two months for two projects has taken time. Today we have two projects from Lewica, a project from PO which is concluding its consultations. Today, the Third Way's project, both a resolution and a law, will be submitted. This is because it's a referendum resolution and a so-called emergency law, as we've stated, and I stand by that. All projects that are submitted, if, for example, PiS or Konfederacja want to submit them, please do, there is time, they will be considered jointly either at the first April session or at the last March session – stated Szymon Hołownia in an interview with journalists in the Sejm.

- The matter is serious, so I very much ask that the farmers' protests be treated with seriousness, and that their conclusions be approached with respect, because they stem from a lack of profitability in agriculture. A tragic situation where production costs are so high that they receive so little for the products sold that they are unable to sustain themselves. Production costs radically exceed the profits a farmer can earn. This did not happen in the last 60 days, since our government has been in office. These are the neglects of the last 8 years, during which you led to the collapse of over 100,000 pig farms. You led to the opening of the border with Ukraine and the uncontrolled influx of grain into Poland and other products for which you were unable to introduce even a unilateral embargo. You led to a situation where the National Strategic Plan has over 1000 pages, and farmers were unable to fulfill eco-schemes – stated Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz in the Sejm.



- This protest yesterday is a social assessment of your 8 years in power, they have effectively written an opening report for our government. This is an audit conducted by farmers, both in Poland and in Europe. An audit of the PiS government in Poland and of Wojciechowski's approach to agricultural matters in Europe – he added.

- There is no 461st MP in the Sejm. It's non-existent. I could feel like a three-time Nobel laureate, for example, but unfortunately, I am not - stated Jarosław Kaczyński.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement regarding anti-Ukrainian and pro-Putin slogans at farmer protests.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes with the utmost concern the appearance of anti-Ukrainian slogans and those praising Vladimir Putin and his ongoing war during recent farmer blockades – the statement reads.

Such actions cast Poland in a poor light – a country that was the first to help attacked Ukraine, and Poles – who welcomed Ukrainian refugees. Importantly, they also discredit the protest organizers themselves. We assess this as an attempt by extremist and irresponsible groups, possibly influenced by Russian agents, to hijack the agricultural protest movement. We call on the protest organizers, in the name of Poland's national interest and the chance to realize their demands, which are largely just, to identify and eliminate the few initiators of such and similar actions from their movement. The current situation of Polish farmers is a result of Vladimir Putin's aggression against Ukraine and the disruption of the global economy, not the fact that Ukrainians are defending themselves against aggression – the communication continues.

Oświadczenie Ministerstwa Spraw Zagranicznych w sprawie antyukraińskich i proputinowskich haseł na protestach rolniczych.https://t.co/lppJjZ1NC4

— Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych RP ?? (@MSZ_RP) February 21, 2024

- Embargo was a necessity – that’s why when we introduced it, I didn’t ask anyone in Brussels for permission! The interests of Poles first and foremost. No provocations will cover up the just causes of the protesters – Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter.

- Dear Farmers – fight for what is yours, but one request. Watch out for Russian bootlickers and their manipulations. And here’s an example of beautiful conduct during the protest! Respect! – he added.

Embargo to konieczność – dlatego kiedy je wprowadzaliśmy, nie pytałem nikogo w Brukseli o zgodę!
Interes Polaków przede wszystkim. Żadne prowokacje nie przykryją słusznych racji protestujących.
??‍????
Drodzy Rolnicy - walczcie o swoje, ale jedna prośba. Uważajcie na ruskie… https://t.co/FCqpH3uO4S

— Mateusz Morawiecki (@MorawieckiM) February 21, 2024

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed via social media to Prime Minister Donald Tusk to organize a meeting of the governments of both states regarding the protests of Polish farmers. The meeting was proposed to take place on the Polish-Ukrainian border before February 24th.

Zelenskyy asked President Andrzej Duda to support the dialogue, emphasizing that it concerns "national security." The Ukrainian president also appealed to the European Commission to have its representative participate in the meeting.

"Ukraine wishes to resolve the situation at the border jointly and fairly – pragmatically. I would like to address the Polish society and express Ukraine's gratitude to everyone who distinguishes political manipulations from fundamental issues of national security," wrote Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"I would like to address the Polish government – Mr. Prime Minister Tusk and ministers. I have instructed our government, in the coming days, by February 24th, to come to the border between our states. The head of the government of Ukraine, our entire government, from logistics to the agricultural sector, and of course, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine – because this blockade at the border, unfortunately, increases the threats to arms supplies for our soldiers at the front," he noted.

"And I ask you, Donald, Mr. Prime Minister, to also come to the border. Andrzej, Mr. President, I ask you to support this dialogue. This is national security. We cannot postpone this. The coming days give us a chance for this," he appealed.

"I am ready to be at the border together with our government. And I want to appeal now to the European Commission – unity in Europe must be maintained. This is a fundamental interest of the European Union. Therefore, Ukraine appeals to the European Commission to have a representative of the European Commission participate in this meeting," added the President of Ukraine.

"Enough Moscow on our lands. Enough misunderstandings. We cannot humiliate each other, we cannot humiliate either Ukrainian or Polish farmers. We need unity. We need solutions – between us, Ukraine and Poland, and at the level of all of Europe," he concluded.

Teraz chcę zwrócić się do wszystkich, którzy pamiętają, co oznacza pełny sens słowa solidarność. Słowo, które tak bardzo zmieniło historię całej naszej Europy na lepsze. Tak było. I pod wieloma względziami nadal tak jest.

Ale teraz widzimy również nadmierną i niesprawiedliwą… pic.twitter.com/vUueNixaqp

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 21, 2024

- Certainly, changes are needed, although they concern the prison system less, and more the judiciary, on the one hand, the responsibility of the judiciary for the decisions made. In this case, someone prepared an indictment, someone made Mr. Komenda confess to guilt, even though he knew he was not guilty, and then, at the end, there was a verdict in this case, so it is definitely a story that should never happen again - stated Agnieszka Pomaska on TVP Info.

- Today, the main goal should be to restore a sense of justice throughout the Polish legal system, because it also concerns prosecutors. We know that over the last few years, prosecutors have very often dealt with cases solely for political reasons, while neglecting cases where they actually existed - she added.

- Yesterday's visit by Minister Bodnar and Szłapka was very successful, where we received the green light for these proposed changes, but we are also under monitoring regarding the Council of Europe. All of this happened and was ongoing for the last eight years, so I will also be patient in this matter and appeal for patience. We will not, like the previous government, push through laws at night without consultation, without agreement. No. All laws will be consulted and prepared in agreement both between ministries and between coalition partners - stated Agnieszka Pomaska on TVP Info.

- I expect nothing good from PiS MPs, because they are the ones who destroyed the Polish judicial system, they are the ones who caused court proceedings and waiting for the first hearing to lengthen rather than shorten, and the promise was the exact opposite - stated Agnieszka Pomaska on TVP Info.

- The legislative process, I want to assure you, will be very intense. The bill on the National Council of the Judiciary has already been submitted to the Sejm, followed by the bill on the structure of common courts, there will be a bill on the Supreme Court, a bill on the Constitutional Tribunal, and finally, a bill on court and prosecutor's office employees, which was unfortunately forgotten, and several other solutions, including a bill that I have been advocating for, I would say, for decades, a bill on the enforcement of ECHR judgments - stated Adam Bodnar during a session of the Sejm's Committee on Justice and Human Rights.