Polish haulers have announced that they will begin blocking cross-border Ukrainian freight in protest of alleged preferential treatment of Ukrainian transport businesses. The protest will involve blocking 3 major Polish-Ukrainian border crossings from today until January 6th. Contributing factors to the protest could be the economic slowdown in Europe along with relaxed regulations for Ukrainian transport companies in order to help their economy compensate for the Russian invasion.
The protest’s co-organizer and deputy head of the Committee to Protect Transporters and Transport Employees, Jacek Sokół, stated that these relaxed regulations allow Ukrainian transporters to cross without restriction and carry out business operations that they don’t have a right to, hurting the local economy. Sokół elaborated, comparing the situation to the recent grain dispute between Ukraine and Poland. The protest has received support from Poland’s Confederation party, while Ukraine’s Deputy Infrastructure Minister, Serhiy Derkach, remarked that it is just an opportunity to block Ukrainian competitors.
Source: Polskie Radio, Reuters, Rzeczpospolita
Poland’s current Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki voiced that he is still hopeful that a coalition can be formed to rival the opposition despite previous denials from other „like minded” parties. The Law and Justice managed to gain the most amount of parliamentary seats for a single party, but has thus far failed to gain a majority in the 460 seat Sejm over the opposition’s coalition, who named Donald Tusk as their candidate for Prime Minister.
Morawiecki stated that PiS has an obligation to attempt a coalition with the Third Way party and Confederation who share similar views on social and sovereignty programs and the subject of illegal immigration.
Source: PolskieRadio
Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced that Poland is building a new mechanized army division to strengthen the country’s defenses. It will be designated the 8th Mechanized Division and will be garrisoned in the town of Nowe Miasto south of Warsaw. The new division will be made up of a variety of units: two mechanized brigades, a motorized brigade, an artillery brigade, an armored brigade, logistics regiment, anti-tank regiment, anti-aircraft regiment, and command, reconnaissance, and chemical warfare battalions.
This is the latest of Poland’s recent efforts to rapidly expand its military capabilities, following a 2 billion dollar defense loan agreement with the United States, the goal being to reach a number of 300,000 troops along with modernized equipment. The rapid increase in defense spending and expansion is likely meant to serve as a deterrent of Russian aggression and has further been emphasized since the invasion of Ukraine.
Source: Polskie Radio
The most recent annual smog analysis has shown that Poland’s air quality, which in some areas is the most polluted in Europe, has made a drastic improvement from the last assessment. „There are very good signs from a still smoggy Poland” says Piotr Siergiej, spokesman of the Polish Smog Alarm NGO.
The assessment data is based on 3 variables: annual average concentration of benzo(a)pyrene, small particulates known as PM10s, and the number of days that the concentration of these particles exceed official safety limits during the year. Poland has seen a steady decrease of these particulates over the past few years, in the worst areas, more than 40%, with the amount of smoggy days decreasing by 22%. A contributing factor could be the Polish Government’s „Clear Air Program” from 2018 which seeks to help households replace coal heaters, a large contributing factor to air pollution, with more modern and cleaner methods.
Source: Notes From Poland
Weather
Today’s weather will be overcast with possible rainfall throughout the day, the heaviest expected from 9am to noon. Windy conditions are also expected starting at noon. The temperature will range from 8 to 11 degrees Celsius or 46 to 51 degrees Fahrenheit with an average humidity of 88%.
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Bryce Buren/MarWer
