Finland and Sweden have moved closer to joining NATO after US President Joe Biden signed documents approving the two Nordic states’ accession to the Western military alliance.

Signing the ratification protocols on Tuesday, Biden said that „Finland and Sweden’s decision to join NATO is a watershed moment” for the alliance and „will help ensure greater security and stability for our world.”

Twenty-three of the thirty current NATO members have already ratified Finland and Sweden’s NATO entry application, Polish state news agency PAP reported on Wednesday.

Polish President Andrzej Duda signed legislation in Warsaw last month to ratify the expansion of NATO to include the two countries in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

Ten more survivors of the deadly bus crash in Croatia were transported back to Poland on Wednesday for further treatment.

They joined four other patients who were flown to Poland on Saturday night. An additional 18 victims of Saturday’s bus crash remain under the supervision of Croatian medical services.

The Polish tourists, who were traveling on a pilgrimage organized by the Brotherhood of St. Joseph Catholic group, included three priests and six nuns.

The bus had left from the Polish city of Częstochowa on Friday night following a prayer service. The passengers were from various regions of Poland.

Source: Radio Poland

A complete EU ban on importing Russian coal is set to take effect today as the transitional period ends and sanctions against Russia begin to take hold.

The embargo is part of the EU’s fifth package of sanctions, which largely came into force on April 8 following a unanimous decision by the 27 member states.

At the request of Germany, the ban on importing coal had a 120-day transition period, which ended yesterday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

The import ban does not provide for any additional exceptions, and it will be up to each individual member state to ensure that the ban is respected.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels last Friday, European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer pointed out that the import ban was one of several „decisions made unanimously in the EU Council; therefore, we expect Member States to implement the decisions they themselves made.”

Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland

While Western sanctions have not succeeded in forcing the Kremlin to stop its war in Ukraine, they have hurt the Russian economy more profoundly than previously thought.

In its latest analysis on the impact of sanctions, Rzeczpospolita reported that while the Russian economy hasn’t „suffered an immediate collapse…it is equally obvious that it has incurred damage.”

The paper pointed out that although „the rouble has strengthened by 23 percent against the dollar this year,” this was caused by „administrative controls on currency exchange and falling imports, while energy exports remained relatively high in the past few months,” Polish state news agency PAP reported.

Those who argue that the sanctions have been effective „point to dwindling vehicle and motorcycle sales” and massive drops in production and retail sales. Rzeczpospolita reported that Russia’s car and motorcycle sales plummeted from over 114,000 (114,400) in February to less than 28.000 (27,800) in June.

At the same time, Russia’s vehicle output fell by a whopping 66 percent in May, compared with a year earlier, while the production of household appliances dropped by 60 percent in the same period, according to Rzeczpospolita.

Retail sales in Russia also fell by 10.1 percent year-on-year in May and by 9.6 percent in June, according to government figures. Rzeczpospolita added that Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank put the figure at around 20 percent.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

The unique „Filmy z Klimatem” outdoor film and discussion series continues tonight in Gdańsk Brzeźno.

Every Thursday at 20:00, a thought-provoking film on topics related to environmental protection, ecology, and climate change is shown at the car park in front of the Spa House in Brzeźno. A discussion with subject specialists precedes each session, and the screenings themselves are „silent” in that the audio is broadcast through headphones provided for each participant.

Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic „Interstellar” will be shown tonight at 20:00, facilitated by Magdalena Maszewska, an education specialist in mathematics and physics at the Hevelianium center in Gdańsk.

Admission to the „Filmy z Klimatem” series is free.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be partly cloudy and warm, with very little chance of rain during the day and a light breeze coming in from the northeast. Temperatures will peak around a high of 23°C, or 74°F, dropping to an overnight low of 13°C or 55°F. Slightly warmer weather is expected tomorrow, with temperatures warming up over the weekend.

Posłuchaj:

Elizabeth Peck/aKa