-- ANDRZEJ CELIŃSKI CANDIDATE FOR SLD IN WARSAW - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/06/21/

-- BŁASZCZAK DISMISSES GENERALS - Paweł Wroński and Paweł Wojciechowski in GW: “Even though Antoni Macierewicz has left the Ministry of National Defence, the dismissals have not ended. In recent days, among others, Deputy Chief of the General Staff General Jan Dziedzic and Commander of the Navy Rear Admiral Mirosław Mordel lost their positions. (...) – The difference is that he does it quietly, with kid gloves, and is more adept at backroom intrigues – a high-ranking officer from the General Staff of the Polish Army told us.”

-- GW ON DUDA'S IMPROVED COOPERATION WITH BŁASZCZAK: “During Macierewicz's two-year term, all high-ranking commanders left the army; in total, nearly 40 generals were dismissed, including those respected in NATO and participants in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our interlocutor claims that the situation is even more complicated because, after Macierewicz's dismissal, the commander-in-chief, President Andrzej Duda, is less interested in the armed forces, and 'gets what he wants from the new minister.'” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,23572547,mariusz-blaszczak-zwalnia-generalow-w-przeciwienstwie-do-macierewicza.html

-- PIS TARGETS DEBT COLLECTORS - GW: “All debt collection companies in Poland have a serious problem. I'm not talking about the failing Wrocław-based company GetBack, but about the entire industry. The legal changes introduced by the PiS government are unequivocally anti-debt collection. PiS amended the Civil Code – shortened the statute of limitations for claims, changed the law on court bailiffs, and drafted a new law solely on bailiff costs. The new regulations are already in effect.” http://wyborcza.biz/pieniadzeekstra/7,134263,23562406,w-kogo-uderza-nowe-przepisy-prawa-cywilnego-apetyt-firm-windykacyjnych.html?disableRedirects=true

-- FAKT ON PIŚ POLITICIANS' EXODUS TO BRUSSELS - as Magdalena Rubaj writes:“Beata Szydło, Beata Kempa, Beata Mazurek, Marek Kuchciński, Ryszard Terlecki, Zbigniew Ziobro, Adam Bielan, Witold Waszczykowski, Jan Dziedziczak, Krzysztof Jurgiel – these are some of the individuals who want to run – and successfully so – for the European Parliament. Why the desire for such a recruitment? – Many are finished, like Szydło, and many don't want to [continue], like Kuchciński or Terlecki – they say in PiS. But there are other reasons for fighting for a seat in the European Parliament.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/kempa-szydlo-mazurek-kto-jeszcze-do-europarlamentu/g15qgk0

-- ANNA SŁOJEWSKA IN RZ WRITES THAT POLAND DOES NOT WANT CONTINUED HEARINGS: “The government also does not want hearings in installments. It also does not want the conclusions of the hearings to be substantive, meaning they should assess the state of the rule of law. They are intended to be procedural, defining the stage of the procedure and outlining the next steps. These could include, for example, recommendations for Poland.” http://www.rp.pl/Unia-Europejska/306209941-Panstwa-UE-przepytaja-rzad-Morawieckiego.html

-- EUROZONE BUDGET WITHOUT REAL MONEY - Jędrzej Bielecki in RZ: “The French counted on hundreds of billions of euros annually, while Berlin agrees to tens of billions of euros for seven years. That's about 6–7 billion euros per year (specific figures are lacking), not even 0.05% of the eurozone's GDP.” http://www.rp.pl/Analizy/180629918-Budzet-strefy-euro-Niemcy-nie-wyloza-realnych-pieniedzy.html&template=restricted

-- MERKEL UNCOUPLES THE POLISH WAGON - Tomasz Bielecki in GW: “The separate euro budget, which on Tuesday became one of the main points of the Franco-German plan for the euro area, will likely be quite small initially. But it signifies a major systemic change in the Union. The 'first-speed' countries will further separate themselves from the rest – including Poland.”

-- NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT POLAND - continued Bielecki:“From a purely economic standpoint, Poland's adoption of the euro would be beneficial for the rest of the euro area and the entire single market. Bulgaria is transitioning to the euro – and the EU West is hindering it. Officially, Sofia has prepared its financial sector, but in behind-the-scenes conversations, it is heard that one should definitely not rush to admit a country with 'weak democratic institutions' and 'rule of law too shallowly rooted' into the euro area. Nothing is said about Poland because it is not preparing to join the euro area. But if it were to start, Europeans have ready arguments.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,23572142,eurobudzet-nie-dla-polski-merkel-odczepia-polski-wagon.html

-- THE EUROZONE EXPRESS TRAIN IS LEAVING US - Michał Sutowski in KP: “The fight for the future shape of the 'real' (i.e., dividing real money and conducting real external policy) EU will primarily take place within the euro area. It will likely last a long time, as there are many conflicting interests and strong actors within it, not to mention the external factor, which is the crumbling liberal international order. In any case, we will likely be – apologies for the excess of eclectic metaphors – spectators in this theatre rather than actors in this drama. Let's hurry then to change the government in the upcoming elections – perhaps they will let us onto the stage halfway through the first act.” http://krytykapolityczna.pl/gospodarka/sutowski-pociag-eurozona-express-nam-odjezdza/

-- DARIUSZ ROSATI ON POLAND REMAINING ON THE PERIPHERY - in SE: “Frankly, I don't know why. Poland will be isolated in its reluctance to join the euro area. Given our location, we should aspire not to be on the periphery of Europe. (...) The only threat to this plan is that Poland will remain on the periphery. Eurozone countries will focus on themselves, pushing aside countries that use a different currency.” https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/dariusz-rosati-powinnismy-przystapic-do-euro-aa-unXB-73sZ-wjyi.html

-- MAREK BEYLIN ON PIŚ'S TROUBLE WITH THE EU: “PiS can retain only one of the two pillars of its power – control over the judiciary and the flow of EU funds. This means a high probability that this power will collapse. And the opposition should loudly and persistently repeat: the EU, along with its funds, is open to a democratic Poland. Moreover, a government respecting democracy could most likely negotiate a better budget than the one currently being prepared for us. PiS also fears these truths. The conflict with the EU is becoming destructive for the authorities.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23570987,pis-sie-przewroci-bo-z-dwoch-filarow-wladzy-kontroli-nas.html

-- KRASNODĘBSKI ON ADOPTING THE EURO - in response to Jacek Nizinkiewicz in RZ: “We could adopt the EU currency if the problems of the monetary union were resolved. There is no indication that this will happen in the foreseeable future. I would not want Poland to end up in a situation like Greece or Italy.”

-- KRASNODĘBSKI MOSTLY RULES OUT PIŚ JOINING THE EPP: “PiS could only join the EPP if it returned to its Christian Democratic roots. However, there is no indication that this will happen. The EPP is weakening – internal disputes are ongoing, and everything indicates that the EPP group in the European Parliament will be smaller after the next elections than it is now.”

-- IN KRASNODĘBSKI'S OPINION, THE GROUP PIŚ BELONGS TO COULD REPLACE THE SOCIALISTS IN A COALITION WITH THE EPP: “The EPP will lose a coalition partner in the European Parliament – because the Social Democratic group will shrink even further. A reformed, strengthened, and enlarged EKR group could become a conservative ally of the EPP, helping it reinforce its Christian Democratic identity.” http://www.rp.pl/Wywiady-i-rozmowy/306209935-Krasnodebski-Zaproponujemy-nowy-traktat-unijny.html&template=restricted

-- MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI BELIEVES THE NARRATIVE ABOUT FROZEN EU FUNDS WILL HELP PO - as he writes in RZ: “PO is finally pulling an ace out of its sleeve – something much more tangible than 'defending the constitution' or 'defending democracy' to say: yes, we achieved successes for Poland. They said they would give you dignity and even more money. But Poland has been marginalized in the EU. As a result, there will be neither dignity nor money.” http://www.rp.pl/Analizy/306209939-Debata-nad-unijnym-budzetem-nowym-orezem-opozycji.html

-- SE ON THE RECORD OF SENATORS' LAZINESS AND 60-DAY VACATIONS: https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/absolutny-rekord-lenistwa-60-dni-wakacji-dla-senatorow-aa-XXjn-nE8N-2y8E.html

-- PIOTR SKWIECIŃSKI ON AN INTERESTING SIGNAL FROM RUSSIA:“Meanwhile, the apologies are written in a way that clearly expresses the writer's genuine indignation (or: is intended to create such an impression). And the immediate expulsion of cadets from the ship, in circumstances reminiscent of the past custom of leaving those guilty of crimes to the mercy of the sea, combined with the decision to remove them from the academy, gives the impression of a stern, even demonstrative reaction. A coincidence of events? Of course, possible. An effect of the oversensitivity of Russian authorities to any threat of scandal on the eve of the World Cup? Probable. But the possibility that this is some kind of signal cannot be entirely ruled out. Let's wait and see if there will be more.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/400429-niewesoly-a-niespodziewany-los-kadetow-z-kruzenszterna

-- JACEK KARNOWSKI ON NOT JUST SPORTING TRAUMA: “The joyful exception was the wonderfully successful Euro 2016 for us, but if we part ways with Russia in the old style, then the pattern of great hopes and spectacular defeat will not only return but will be solidified. And it will cease to be just a painful memory for fans. Such sporting traumas, especially if they have elements of repetition, become part of the broader social memory, becoming part of the emotional experience of the entire community. They affect the self-esteem of the entire community and thus influence, albeit indirectly, seemingly imperceptibly, other spheres of national life, other endeavors, in areas theoretically unrelated to sport. On Sunday, the footballers will therefore play not only for high sporting stakes, not only for the good name of Polish football, but also to avoid something that could become more than just a sporting trauma.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/sport/400466-mecz-z-kolumbia-gra-o-duza-nie-tylko-sportowa-stawke

-- BODNAR'S DEPUTY ON THE DISCRIMINATION OF SENIORS BY THE STATE - speaking in an interview with Stanisław Skarżyński in GW: “European data shows that the difference between a woman's and a man's pension – the so-called gender pension gap – is almost 40%. This is twice as much as the 18% difference in pay between men and women in the same position.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23572615,babciu-dziadku-starosc-musi-bolec-to-dyskryminacja-i-lamanie.html

-- PEKAO PRESIDENT MICHAŁ KRUPIŃSKI ON CHANGES IN THE BANK - speaking to Łukasz Wilkowicz in DGP: “The fact that such a significant change has occurred in the bank is evidenced by the fact that previously it sold about 50,000 accounts per year. Now it's close to 150,000. The number of users of the PeoPay mobile app has exceeded one million. We are also among the first banks in the country to introduce Apple Pay, which has met with enormous interest. Within a dozen or so hours, nearly 10,000 customers took advantage of this opportunity.”

-- KRUPIŃSKI ON PEKAO'S HIGH GROWTH DYNAMICS: “The results best demonstrate what we have achieved. The dynamics are very good. We are improving profits quarter by quarter. The fourth quarter of 2017 was the best in the bank's 90-year history in this regard. We are observing very satisfactory dynamics in all our key areas, we are improving customer service quality, introducing new products, and streamlining processes. We want the customer to appreciate the difference – which is why we dedicated our advertising campaign to this slogan.”

-- KRUPIŃSKI ON THE MULTICURRENCY CARD AND OTHER NEW PEKAO PRODUCTS:“We have a very attractive mobile application, a unique multicurrency card that recognizes the transaction currency itself and automatically switches between the client's currency accounts. We have significantly accelerated the account opening process. We have a remote process for selling mortgage loans through a call center. NPS (Net Promoter Score; customer satisfaction indicator – ed.) is increasing. Our 'backwardness' is rather a matter of perception, and it concerns what happened in the past.”

-- MORAWIECKI CLEANS UP AT ORLEN - GW: “The supervisory board of the concern appointed Patrycja Klarecka to the management board of PKN Orlen. She is a former subordinate of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and, most recently, the president of the government's Polish Agency for Entrepreneurship Development.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,155287,23568686,w-zarzadzie-orlenu-patrycja-klarecka-z-ekipy-premiera-morawieckiego.html

-- MORAWIECKI STRENGTHENS INFLUENCE AT GPW - GW: “On Tuesday, Wojciech Nagel, the chairman of the Stock Exchange Council, unexpectedly resigned. Janusz Krawczyk, a former associate of Mateusz Morawiecki at BZ WBK, was appointed to the Stock Exchange Council.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,155287,23564729,premier-morawiecki-umocnil-wplywy-we-wladzach-gieldy.html

-- BIRTHDAYS: Alojzy Orszulik, Renate Marsch-Potocka, Rafał Zakrzewski, Adam Zagajewski, Krzysztof Pusz, Andrzej Owczarek, Damian Kwiek, Krzysztof Iszkowski, Wojciech Filemonowicz.