RGEN News – Saturday October 19th, 2019
Brexit News. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said this week that a Brexit deal struck between Brussels and London and approved by EU leaders would secure the rights of Poles living in Britain as well as British citizens living in Poland. Morawiecki was attending a two-day summit of European leaders in Brussels. Just hours before the meeting, Britain and the EU agreed a deal under which they can divorce.
The Polish Prime Minister said the agreement would secure the rights of Poles in Britain and the interests of Polish companies, for which Britain is an important export market.
The impact of Britain’s shock 2016 decision to withdraw from the EU has been closely watched in Warsaw as there are around a million Poles living in the UK, constituting the country’s largest minority community.
The most recent agreement on Brexit, hammered out during weeks of talks is seen as a huge victory for UK Prime Minister Johnson, but still needs to be backed by both the British and European parliaments.
The UK Parliament will vote today whether or not to approve the new deal in what is expected to be a very tight vote.
Conflicting Forecasts on Inflation in Poland
An IMF report says that Inflation in Poland is expected to rise the fastest in the European Union in 2020, and this situation is expected to persist until 2023 according to a forecast by the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF October forecast says inflation in Poland is expected to reach 3.5% next year, and then to decline slowly, to reach below 2,0% only in 2024.
Other economists disagree with this forecast. The WPI index prepared by analysts from the BIEC economic analysis group since 2003, have reported that the index has in fact dropped 0.4% in October – the sixth monthly drop in a row.
Most economists agree however that the economy will continue to grow with the IMF raising its forecast of Poland’s GDP growth in 2020 from 3.8 to 4 percent.
Source – Warsaw Business Journal http://biec.org/wizja-spowolnienia-ogranicza-presje-inflacyjna/
Modern Busses for Gdynia
55 new buses have been put into service in the Gdynia public transport network this week. Gdynia has paid over 76 million PLN for them, of which three-quarters is from EU funding.
The new buses will significantly „rejuvenate” the fleet in Gdynia according to the director of the Public Transport Board in Gdynia with the New buses replacing depleted often even 20-year-old vehicles.
Once introduced, approximately one-third of the Gdynia fleet will consist of the latest generation of buses.
All new buses are equipped with passenger information boards as well as USB sockets for charging phones and are also fully air-conditioned and accessible.
Greece Closer to Gdansk
The budget airline Ryanair is set to launch a new connection to Greece in the 2020 summer season, flying from Gdansk to Kalamata in Southern Greece. The first flight is scheduled for June 3rd, and the connection will operate twice a week until September 30th, flying on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
With a flight time of less than three hour, the Kalamata District is famous for the production of olives and olive oil and its sea port offers ferry connections to Crete and beyond. It is also a great base for exploring the southern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is about 230 km away from Athens.
Weather
Today it is going to be sunny with a few scattered clouds and a gentle breeze throughout the day. Temperatures will reach 17 degrees centigrade (63 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, and 10 degrees centigrade (50 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.
Sunday will be cloudy with sunny spells and temperatures reaching a very pleasant 17 degrees centigrade (63 degrees Fahrenheit).
What’s On
Some highlights of what’s going on today and tomorrow in the Tricity
· First up we have Klub Metro’s Rock night 10th anniversary party this evening at the Metro Klub in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz on ul. Miszewskiego. Saturday night is rock night in the Metro and for the first 100 people tonight there is a free beer as a gift at the entrance!
· Tomorrow evening at the Great Hall of the Artus Court, also known as Arthur’s Court behind the Neptune Fountain on Gdańsk Długi Targ 44, the Polish Chamber Choir will perform under the direction of the renowned Swedish conductor Stefan Parkman on a repertoire containing works of Scandinavian composers, among others Nils Lindberg, Knut Nystedt and Jan Sandstrom. It will be a rare opportunity to learn about the choral work of our neighbours across the Baltic sea. Stefan Parkman is head of the choral chair at the University of Uppsala and has been the principal conductor of the Danish National Radio Choir, the Swedish Radio Choir and has led the Stockholm Philharmonic Choir. Tickets cost between 20 and 30 PLN.
· And finally for this weekend, a very interesting and topical event is happening at the Xperiment Science Centre in Gdynia. Sunday’s Science Café for Adults will be all about Smog which is one of the biggest threats to health, but which too little is known about it. During the session participants will learn what smog is, why Poland is one of the worst affected EU countries by smog, what are the health effects of smog and more. The session will be combined with workshops to provide an engaging and enlightening afternoon. The event starts at 4pm on Sunday and tickets cost 15PLN.
RGEN NEWS/puch
