Poland

Bulgaria and Poland – an episode in Warsaw’s push toward the Black Sea?

It is common knowledge that more than two decades ago the European continent was mainly divided between two rival geopolitical blocs – “Western”, mostly the EU and the North-Atlantic club, and “Eastern”, dominated militarily and economically by the USSR. This Eastern Bloc occupied a geographical space spreading from the flatland of the Great East European Plain along the Baltic coast in the north to the Black … Read more…

Polish-German relations: New challenges and old strategies

The new government in Poland and its attitude towards Germany and the European Union, the refugee crisis and the related decisions taken by the EU and Angela Merkel as well as the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Germany and Russia  are the current challenges for Polish-German relations. The relationship between the two countries has so deteriorated just 50 years after one … Read more…

How Nord Stream 2 could affect the Central and Eastern Europe gas market? (op-ed)

By Wojciech Jakóbik.  Poles boast that upon completion of the LNG terminal construction in Świnoujście will provide one hundred percent independence from Russian gas supplies. If Russia will not cooperate, then Poland will bring the raw material from another direction, using reverse flow services or the LNG terminal. However, the problem lies in the fact that Warsaw has already revealed the plan that could undermine the … Read more…

A change in Warsaw: Where is Poland headed for?

The recent parliamentary election in Poland, held on 25 October, delivered two historical results. For the first time on the country’s post-communist political scene there will be a single party to rule by a full majority. The conservative Law and Justice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc, PiS), led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, managed to secure 235 seats in the 460-seat Polish Sejm, the national parliament’s lower chamber, … Read more…

Vox Opinion: Why Polish PM Ewa Kopacz forced snap dismissals in government?

On 10 May in a surprise move Polish PM Ewa Kopacz announced the dismissal of several key figures from her government. Three ministers will be sacked – Health Minister Bartosz Arłukowicz, Treasury Minister Włodzimierz Karpiński and Sports Minister Andrzej Bierna. Furthermore, three other officials were forced to resign – chief advisory to PM Kopacz Jacek Rostowski, head of the Special services Jacek Cichocki, and the Speaker of … Read more…

Vox Opinion on: Polish Presidential Election, “The Duda in Poland” by Jan Cienski, Politico

On Sunday 24 May, Poland elected a new president – Andrzej Duda. The official results show that Duda secured 51.55% over incumbent Komorowski’s 48.45%. Two weeks ago we  forecasted that Komorowski should be able to mobilize some of the protest “Kukiz vote”. However, this did not happen –  the results show nearly 60% of the people who voted for Kukiz on the first round, chose Duda this … Read more…

What are the main conclusions from the Polish presidential election?

On Sunday 10 May Poles went to the polls to elect their president. Unexpectedly, to the dismay of his party and supporters, incumbent candidate Bronislaw Komorowski lost to the main opposition candidate Andrzej Duda. A second round of elections will be staged on 24 May as Komorowski’s 33.8% and Duda’s 34.8% are below the 50% required margin for an outright victory. What are the implications? … Read more…