-- SASIN ON PIS'S PLANS FOR THE DISABLED ACT, VDL IN POLAND -- THE PRIME MINISTER ON EXPECTATIONS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/07/25/ -- VDL IS A CHANCE FOR A NEW OPENING WITH BRUSSELS - JĘDRZEJ BIELECKI in RZ: 'We want to create the best possible atmosphere in relations with the Polish authorities – a high-ranking source in the European Commission confirms to 'Rz'. Warsaw wants to use this opportunity to solve the most important problems that have poisoned our country's relations with the Union since 2015. – The appointment of Ursula von der Leyen as President of the EC creates an opportunity for a new opening in EU policy. Brussels badly needs this. We have been investing in this scenario from the very beginning.' https://www.rp.pl/Unia-Europejska/307249921-Ursula-von-der-Leyen-w-Polsce-Rzad-wierzy-w-kompromis.html -- ANDRZEJ KUBLIK ON THE TEST FOR VON DER LEYEN REGARDING NORD STREAM 2: 'If Germany implements the EU directive before Nord Stream 2 is completed, it will be up to the European Commission to approve exceptions to the application of EU regulations for this gas pipeline, which Germany may seek for Gazprom. By refusing such preferences, Brussels will enter into a dispute with Berlin. In both cases, Ursula von der Leyen will decide on the resolution of such disputes. And this will be the true test of the credibility of the new EC head's declarations, already in the first months of her term.' http://wyborcza.pl/7,155287,25024271,gazowy-test-von-der-leyen.html -- THUGS, NOT FASCISTS - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI in GW: 'However, the xenophobic thugs who have been roaming Polish streets with increasing brazenness for years do not hold a candle to fascists. They have no vision for the world or innovative social and economic doctrine. They only have hatred and the support of state and Church officials who use them to pursue their own interests. They are indifferent to whom they vent their anger – on LGBT people, migrants, Jews, or fans of a rival team. They can become a tool for fascists or other dictatorships (like Duterte's Philippines), but they themselves are just bandits, deviants, socio- or psychopaths seeking an opportunity to discharge their own psychological imbalances. No ideas seduce them. Only the lust for wild, sadistic violence seduces them.' http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25021308,to-sa-zwykle-oprychy-a-nie-faszysci.html -- THE OPPOSITION NEEDS A NON-AGGRESSION PACT - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ in RZ: 'Therefore, the opposition must conclude a non-aggression pact if it wants to govern in the autumn. Mutual infighting is a gift to PiS. Civic Platform, PSL, and the Left must find PiS's weak points, each bloc individually, and turn them into their support, without cannibalizing their own electorates. In this way, they can weaken the ruling party, gain non-voters, and win back voters lost to PiS. Benedictine work may prove effective. But will anyone undertake it?' https://www.rp.pl/Wybory-parlamentarne-2019/190729678-Opozycji-potrzebny-pakt-o-nieagresji.html -- THE TIME FOR SETTLING SCORES AND ANALYSES IS OVER, WE HAVE A VERY GOOD OFFER FOR YOU - AGNIESZKA POMASKA in OKO.press in conversation with Magdalena Chrzczonowicz: 'We needed time to analyze these elections, to reflect on what can be done better. For me, the period of settling scores and analyses ended with the program forum held two weeks ago. We presented a very good program that we can take to the field and convince Poles with. As a Civic Platform MP, I also have the tools and can say: 'We have a very good offer for you.' We want your children to attend better schools, without the chaos, for access to healthcare not to be as disastrous as it is now, and we also want to work more intensively on environmental protection, both in the shorter and longer term – one year, five, or fifteen years. So, your observation is certainly correct, I am much more optimistic today.' -- THE IMPORT OF WASTE TO POLAND HAS TRIPLE, WE SHOULD REDUCE PLASTIC WASTE - POMASKA CONTINUES: 'Yes, this is one of our priorities for the next term. We propose a more active policy on environmental issues. Although, of course, we will first have to clean up after ministers Szyszko and Kowalczyk. The import of waste to Poland has tripled since 2015, much of it ends up in landfills where it is set on fire. The 'Clean Air' program is working too slowly. And Poland may lose billions of zlotys in EU funds for combating smog. Poland should be a leader in caring for a clean environment and fighting climate change, yet recently the prime minister vetoed the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. We should also introduce a deposit system for bottles and containers for plastic packaging. Many cities already pursue policies to reduce plastic waste. It's time for this to be a national policy.' -- POMASKA ON EXPANDING THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PLASTIC PRODUCERS: 'Producer responsibility should also be expanded. A producer who releases a product in plastic packaging should bear responsibility from beginning to end. This involves the need to publish data on how many of these packaging items large corporations put on the market. And the whole policy related to not wasting, to producing less waste, aiming to move away from single-use packaging. This is related to the EU directive that bans plastic cutlery, packaging, and straws, but I believe it should go further, that Poland could be a leader here. This particularly applies to buying products by weight. Today, everything is packed in single-use bags that we throw away. Small shops manage better with this; certainly, this responsibility should be greater, especially from large entities, supermarkets. The same applies to double packaging or packaging, for example, cosmetics in boxes much larger than their contents.' -- POMASKA ON RESTORING THE PLACE OF WOMEN IN MEMORY: 'For example, until last year, there wasn't a single roundabout in Gdańsk named after a woman. Thanks to the Chairperson of the Gdańsk City Council, Agnieszka Owczarczak, who has held this position since last year, there is now the first roundabout named after a woman – Anna Piasecka, a member of the first parliament.' -- WE WANTED TO DISPEL DOUBTS ABOUT PARTNERSHIP UNIONS - POMASKA CONTINUES in OKO.press: 'However, we truly wanted to dispel doubts about our position on partnership unions, hence Grzegorz Schetyna's clear stance. Our commitment regarding partnership unions is very broad, it concerns many people, and we should let people live as they want, not as the man at Nowogrodzka Street dictates.' https://oko.press/pomaska-czas-rozliczen-sie-skonczyl-jestesmy-zdeterminowani-zeby-wygrac-z-pis-wywiad/ -- MARCIN FIJOŁEK ON SIENKIEWICZ'S BOOK - INSPIRING ESSAYISM: 'One way or another, "Sienkiewicz with Us" is at least inspiring essayism, digging the author of "The Trilogy" out of dusty sections titled 'to lift the spirits of Poles' and showing the complexity of a man whose works everyone encountered in school. This is the most valuable and interesting thing that Sienkiewicz junior extracts from his great-grandfather's deep workshop: a positivist journalistic flair, an interest in social and political issues, a skeptical-ironic sense of humor, and finally – the testament of a man who could anticipate his era.' -- FIJOŁEK ON SEVERAL SENSIBLE INTUITIONS OF SIENKIEWICZ: 'Having said that, I would like to point out at least a few sensible intuitions that the author of the book signals. Such as the one about the Nobel laureate's legacy, which in many places carries a warning against the disintegration of the political community. Another one – extremely interesting – about the responsibility we all take upon ourselves by engaging in public life in one way or another, not only before our conscience or God, but also before the political community (understood more broadly than any particular government). Finally, what must be emphasized when assessing the last 10-15 years in Polish politics, about the nature of power, the type of conservatism in Poland, and the quality of discussion.' -- WHAT WOULD SIENKIEWICZ TELL US TODAY? - FIJOŁEK CONTINUES: 'However, the question of what Henryk Sienkiewicz would tell us today remains open, interesting, and inspiring. All the more so because the mentioned legacy can be one of the lowest common denominators of the community, from which one can spring forward into the future. This is the most interesting conclusion after reading 'Sienkiewicz with Us' – only that and as much as that.' https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/456300-czy-henryk-sienkiewicz-polubilby-iii-rp -- MORE ABOUT THE BOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SienkiewiczB/posts/636057040217678 -- MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: GLAPIŃSKI IS NEITHER A BROTHER NOR A BROTHER-IN-LAW, BUT SOMEONE IS LYING IN THIS MATTER: 'The media and politicians have been chewing over the 'Fakt' article all day. The day is ending – there is no confirmation of the alleged NIK findings, there is no reference to the NBP's denial on 'Fakt's' website (the article from the morning is still recommended as 'popular on Facebook'). No one cared about this denial anyway – the bait thrown in the morning is still being chewed, without any correlation with the truth (which has not been established). President Glapiński is neither my brother nor my brother-in-law, but you can't do this. Either the president 'gave himself half a million' and 'Fakt' and NIK (if the Chamber had a hand in this) can prove it, or we are dealing with an unprecedented attempt to persecute a man. Someone is lying in this matter.' https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/456383-ani-mi-prezes-glapinski-brat-ani-swat-ale-tak-nie-mozna -- THE SEJM GIVES, WILL PIS TAKE AWAY? - GW'S FIRST REPORT ON THE SUPPLEMENT FOR THE DISABLED: 'What next? The bill will now go to the Senate. Senators will likely amend the provision beneficial to the disabled. On Wednesday, at a special session – officially convened to commemorate the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising – the Sejm will pass the bill. And in this way, PiS will discreetly cut the income threshold for the disabled.' http://wyborcza.pl/7,155287,25025381,sejm-dal-pis-odbierze-500-plus-tylko-dla-czesci-niepelnosprawnych.html -- PIS HAS NO IDEA FOR HEALTHCARE - TOMASZ PIETRYGA in RZ:'It seemed that PiS would make up for what it neglected at the beginning at the end of its term, even with the so-called Kaczyński's Five. Nothing of the sort. Expanding 500+ or reviving PKS proved more important. PiS clearly has no idea for healthcare today, which the opposition is diligently starting to exploit.' -- NEED FOR MINISTERS WHO STEP OUTSIDE THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY'S SPHERE - PIETRYGA CONTINUES: 'Healthcare in Poland needs a shock today. And ministers who are more sensitive to the problems of patients, who step outside the sphere of the medical community, which thrives on a sick system.' https://www.rp.pl/Opinie/307249918-Nie-ma-leku-dla-starzejacego-sie-spoleczenstwa---komentuje-Tomasz-Pietryga.html -- MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL: SUCH A MASSIVE COMPROMISE THAT EVEN THE PRESIDENT, WHO APPROVES 99% OF PIS'S FAILURES, REFUSED TO SIGN - writes in RZ: 'However, the amendment to the penal code turned out to be such a massive compromise that even President Andrzej Duda, who rubber-stamps 99% of the failures produced by PiS, decided that the limit of legislative blunders had been exceeded, and therefore refused to sign the bill and sent it to the Constitutional Tribunal. Because to cover up the May crisis, an underdeveloped and highly controversial draft amendment to the penal code concerning many areas, not just pedophilia, was pulled from the closet.' -- WILL POLISH CHILDREN BE SAFER THANKS TO THE COMMISSION? I DOUBT IT - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: 'The temporary averting of political problems proved more important than the welfare of the state, the welfare of children, and the fight against pathologies. And since a promise was made then to establish a commission, the government invented a special office. The bill will be pushed through the Sejm now, just in time, after the holidays – after the premiere of the next episode of Sekielski's documentary – to be able to say that it has not forgotten about the problem. But will Polish children be safer thanks to the establishment of a special commission – I have serious doubts.' https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/307249923-Szuldrzynski-Ministerstwo-wizerunkowego-kryzysu.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Fr. Adam Boniecki turns 85, Anne Applebaum turns 55, Krzysztof Truskolaski.