Poland’s deputy finance minister this week painted a positive picture of the Polish economy in light of global economic headwinds. He was quoted by the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily paper as saying „Poland is ready for a global economic slowdown.” Asked whether official forecasts of a 4-percent GDP growth this year and a 3.7 percent increase next year, are feasible in view of the worsening economic sentiment abroad, he answered that „we have been watching what is going on in the world, especially in the euro zone, including Germany and at the moment, there is no strong influence of the German slowdown on the Polish economy since Poland has its own growth driving engines. But as the strength of bilateral connections is great, one should not neglect what is going on” he added. 

Almost half a million Ukrainians legally work in Poland

A report by radio Poland this week has found that 483 000 legally working Ukrainians are registered in Poland. According to a representative of the social insurance institution the number of legally employed foreigners in the Polish market is growing, and most of them are Ukrainians. He noted that other countries also made up a much smaller proportion of legal workers, saying that “The next national group is already more than ten times smaller….citizens of Belarus, who consist of 38 thousand. Next we have Georgians – about 9 ½ thousand, and then Moldovans and Russian citizens account for more than 8 thousand, ” he said. He also added that Poland has a fairly large labour market where unfilled jobs remain at a constant level – more than 140, 000. Polish companies want to employ foreigners, primarily workers from Ukraine. In the first half of 2019, almost 5 million Ukrainians travelled to Poland.

Polish Officials insist Germany Should Compensate their Homeland for WWII

Poland, which was invaded by the Soviet Union and Germany at the start of WW II, intends to present the German President with its view that Germany should reopen the issue of compensation for Poles when he visits Poland in September.

Some government sources estimate that the proper compensation figure could reach over $900 billion, since Poland suffered the murder of some six million citizens during the war and the near destruction of Warsaw during the uprising against occupied German rule.

The German position is that the People’s Republic of Poland, the state which came into being at the war’s end, agreed to waive compensation in 1953, as did the Soviet Union.

The current government of modern Poland argues however, that the Poland’s decision of 1953 was heavily influenced by Moscow and should be re-examined.

Gdańsk City Council upset by Russian Foreign Minister’s Falsification of WWII History

Gdansk city councillors have accused the Russian foreign minister of falsifying history after he opened an exhibition devoted to World War II this week in Moscow. The Russian minister stated that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, as a result of which the Soviet Union and the Third Reich divided the Second Polish Republic in 1939 between them, was „ the result of Poland’s failure to join the anti-Hitler coalition. ”

One Gdansk councillor said, “If we allow words that relativize history, it will be very difficult for us to achieve something in the field of international politics, such as war reparations from Germany.”

Gdańsk councilors hope that the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take up the matter with their Russian counterparts

Verva Street Racing Coming to Gdynia this Weekend

This weekend sees the staging of the 10th edition of the Verva Street Racing Event around Gdynia. The event is the largest automotive event in Poland and will include a host of amazing displays and some of the world’s best drivers including Formula One’s very own Robert Kubica, currently the only Pole to race in Formula One. The event will have displays of racing, rally, military and historic vehicles as well as cars of the future. There are a many other attractions during the 2 day event. More details can be found online.

Weather

Today is going to be a glorious sunny day with clear skies and temperatures reaching a very pleasant 22 degrees centigrade (72 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, dropping to 13 degrees centigrade (55 degrees Fahrenheit) during the night.

Saturday will remain sunny and hot, with temperatures rising to 26 degrees centigrade, 79 degrees Fahrenheit.
 

RGEN/MC