-- OLGIERD ŁUKASZEWICZ ON SCHETYNA'S REFUSAL TO INCLUDE HIM ON THE EC LISTS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/03/28/

-- CITY HALL WANTS TO FURTHER INCREASE THE NUMBER OF LICENSES, ALCOHOL BOOM IN THE CITY CENTER - Gazeta Stołeczna front page: “City Hall wants to increase the number of alcohol sales licenses. This is quite reckless. The easy availability of alcohol contributes to increased addiction, and such shops also often cause problems for residents: disturbing the peace at night, brawls. I am not against alcohol. It's about moderation. Were there too few shops 10 years ago? – asks councilor Puławski. Similarly, Daniel Łaga, a councilor from the Civic Platform in Śródmieście, says: – There are too many establishments selling alcohol in Śródmieście. I've been fighting this for years, but it's like fighting windmills. If one shop closes, it's almost certain that an alcohol delicatessen will open in its place. In one of the grocery stores on al. 3 Maja, near the boulevards, during the summer season, beer is sold by the pallet right next to the cash registers – describes the councilor.

-- CIVIC PLATFORM AND PIS COUNCILORS ON ŚRÓDMIEŚCIE BEING FLOODED WITH ALCOHOL SHOPS: “Are alcohol shops really needed in so many places? In Śródmieście, small greengrocers, bakeries, and dairy shops are disappearing. And in their place, alcohol outlets are opening. This has become almost a business model. Entrepreneurs have become convinced that alcohol must be the main product – says Śródmieście councilor Paweł Puławski (PiS). In an interpellation, the councilor asked about the number of alcohol selling points in the district. He was interested in liquor stores and catering establishments over the last ten years. The answer he received shows a huge increase in the number of such places. In 2009, there were 160 shops and 488 catering establishments with alcohol sales licenses in Śródmieście. In February this year, there were already 346 such shops and 1077 catering establishments.” http://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,54420,24591608,w-srodmiesciu-jest-dzis-dwa-razy-wiecej-sklepow-z-alkoholem.html

-- DGP ON THE GERMAN-FRENCH PACT: NORD STREAM FOR ACTA2 - Justyna Piszczatowska and Łukasz Grajewski: "The Franco-German agreement to weaken the gas directive indicates that it is not economics that is driving the construction of the pipeline through which Russian gas will flow to Germany. FAZ, based on obtained documents and sources in the German government, claims that Tuesday's approval of the copyright directive by all 32 German Christian Democrats present in the room was in fact a repayment of a debt. German politicians had reasons to vote otherwise. In their country, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated against the new regulations, primarily against Article 13". https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/swiat/artykuly/594531,nord-stream-2-gazociag-niemcy-francja-uklad.html

-- CZECH MEP WANTS A REPEAT VOTE ON ACTA2 DUE TO INCORRECT VOTE COUNT: https://twitter.com/samuelstolton/status/1111204659094540289?s=21

-- DOROTA KANIA IN GPC ON CIVIC PLATFORM MEPs' SUPPORT FOR ACTA 2: “Ordinary people perceive the provisions of this directive similarly – the internet leaves no room for doubt about this. By voting for ACTA2, Civic Platform MEPs have clearly shown where their promises lie. We will soon find out what the voters think about this.”

-- ZBIGNIEW KUŹMIUK TELLS GPC ABOUT THE NEED TO AMEND THE DIRECTIVE IN THE NEXT EP TERM: “The politician expressed hope that the new parliament will make changes to this directive. – This directive is clearly an attack on internet freedom – he said.”

-- JAKUB MAJMUREK WRITES IN KRYTYKA about EC LISTS AS THE III RP HIT PARADE: “On the top spots of the EC and PiS lists, it is difficult to find even one person who one could think: this is the leader of tomorrow, on whom the party is betting. The frontrunners of the lists have almost completely monopolized the names of politicians who have been present on the national and European stage for a very long time – sometimes since the beginnings of the Third Polish Republic. The leading candidates of the EC look like a 'hit parade of the Third Polish Republic'. Among them, we have five former prime ministers: Marek Belka, Jerzy Buzek, Ewa Kopacz, Leszek Miller, and Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz. In addition to former prime ministers, at the top of the lists are: the architect of ownership transformations (Janusz Lewandowski), the Minister of Agriculture negotiating Poland's accession to the EU (Jarosław Kalinowski), and MEPs such as Bogusław Liberadzki, who has been a member of the EP continuously since 2004.”

-- WIOSNA (SPRING) GIVES YOUNG PEOPLE A CHANCE TO ENTER POLITICS - MAJMUREK CONTINUES: “There is plenty of time in the campaign to catch up on any slumps. The generational difference between Wiosna and other parties may help with this. During Wiosna's founding convention at Torwar, we heard a consistent narrative: we are tired of the same politicians for years engaging in fruitless quarrels that have nothing to do with our lives. It's time to return to this in the campaign. Assertively ask politicians (not only from PiS) about what they have actually achieved in the EP and what goals they are now setting for themselves. Learn a little from Podemos, which effectively plays on its freshness against the entrenched 'political caste'. Wiosna's lists are not only generationally younger than those of POPiS, but they also offer a chance for new people, who have so far stayed away from politics, to enter it. Leaders of civil society, local government officials, local activists, academics, human rights activists.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/majmurek-wiosna-ke-eurowybory/?fbclid=IwAR1r8DvVwAyERwierXLOVclyh8TCG6IESanMCpMoKa8wcu9QLMVVy4IlW5Q

-- DGP ON SPENDING CUTS AND SAVING FOR THE "FIFTH" (KACZYŃSKI'S CAMPAIGN PROMISES) - as written by: Grzegorz Osiecki, Marek Chądzyński, Bartek Godusławski: “DGP's findings indicate that a letter regarding the necessity of expenditure cuts may be sent from the government to budget custodians in the coming days. This is important if the government truly wants to limit the deepening deficit. State-controlled companies may also contribute to financing election promises. Companies may be forced to contribute to Kaczyński's "fifth". So far, the government has not drained companies to improve the budget's condition. The costly package of election promises may change the approach to dividends. Since PiS came to power, state revenues from dividends have fallen sharply, even though company profits have often improved. Politicians explained the strengthening of company capital as necessary to finance large investment plans. However, the government has announced a costly election package, which will necessitate ensuring higher budget revenues.” https://gospodarka.dziennik.pl/news/artykuly/594501,piatka-kaczynskiego-obietnice-wyborcze-pis-finansowanie.html

-- WŁODZIMIERZ CIMOSZEWICZ ON WHY HE IS RETURNING FROM POLITICAL RETIREMENT - tells Jacek Nizinkiewicz in Rzeczpospolita: “Because I hear the alarm bells ringing in Poland. Nearly four years of lawlessness, contempt for millions of people, their rights and freedoms, for democracy and basic human decency. Four years of rule by greedy nepotists, incompetent careerists and cronies, reckless irresponsibility for the state, its security, and its future. Years of discrediting Poland in the world, political and diplomatic amateurism, actions contrary to the national interest. Four years of living in a King Ubu state, in a stifling atmosphere of false and aggressive propaganda, contempt for independent culture. Poland is not an appendage of Srebrna. The time has come to restore law and administer justice, a time for the arduous task of repairing the damage done. In such a situation, the right to peaceful rest does not exist.”

-- CIMOSZEWICZ DISMISSIVELY ABOUT BIEDROŃ: “I don't really know Robert Biedroń. I've observed him with sympathy over the years, though it has weakened recently due to his exceptionally unfortunate remarks about the elderly and the 'shabbiness' in the EP. The statements of his partner about the 'recycling of politicians' and Ms. Wielgus about Grzegorz Schetyna 'grabbing people by the throat' suggest that something is not right with the new style of politics, openness, and tolerance of Wiosna's creators.”

-- IT'S HARD TO CONSIDER BIEDROŃ A COMPETITOR - CIMOSZEWICZ CONTINUES: “It's hard to consider Mr. Biedroń a real competitor, especially since he himself admits that his candidacy is a purely tactical move, as his goal is the position of prime minister this autumn.” https://www.rp.pl/Wybory-do-PE/190329366-Cimoszewicz-Polska-nie-jest-przystawka-Srebrnej.html&template=restricted

-- Jagiellonian Club on the lack of consultations regarding the "Thirteenth" (pension bonus): “Yesterday, the Council of Ministers adopted the draft law 'on a one-time monetary benefit for pensioners and annuitants in 2019,' i.e., the so-called thirteenth for pensioners. Although the project has already been sent to the Sejm, its consultations within the government process... are still underway for two more days. The Jagiellonian Club has requested the Chancellery of the Prime Minister for the documents required by the government's regulations and the justification for such an unconventional decision. The association points out that such a procedure for a controversial law is further evidence that the sole justification for the 'thirteenth' is the desire to mobilize a large group of voters to participate in the European Parliament elections through a one-time payment of additional money.” https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2019/03/27/czy-rzad-przyjal-trzynastke-dla-emerytow-z-brakami-formalnymi-klub-jagiellonski-pyta-kancelarie-premiera/

-- GAZETA POLSKA on the condition Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz left the forester's lodge he rented for years from the State Forests in: “The former prime minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, who presents himself as a European, upon leaving the forester's lodge he rented for almost nothing for 17 years in the middle of the Białowieża Forest, took with him the stove, the cladding of the outbuilding, the door and window frames, electrical outlets and sockets, and even… the wood paneling. The building belongs to the State Forests. After one of the leaders of the European Coalition left it, it is a ruin unfit for habitation.” https://gpcodziennie.pl/111423-gpujawniajakcimoszewiczdewastowallesniczowke.html

-- GW on the retail ban - Sylwia Czubkowska and Piotr Miączyński: “We go for a walk or to the cinema. However, on Saturdays, we have an Ironman marathon in a nearby discount store, which stays open longer and benefits from it. What about the future of the retail ban? Next week, the Council of Ministers will receive an analysis of the effects of its flagship law.”

-- THE RETAIL BAN HAS STIMULATED E-SHOPS - GW CONTINUES: “And one more trend: the retail ban has influenced technological changes. While – contrary to media predictions – the ban has not driven us to order groceries online, it has boosted e-commerce for clothing, shoes, electronics, etc. Shops are increasingly used for viewing, while e-shops are for ordering products.”

-- BIRTHDAYS: Michał Kamiński, Mariusz Treliński, Agnieszka Milczarz, Ola Leo, Katarzyna Meller, Maria Wiernikowska.