The European Union has backtracked on a plan to restrict exports of COVID-19 vaccines from crossing the Irish border into the United Kingdom, a move which would effectively have removed the province from the EU Customs area, in contravention of an agreement the EU made with the UK as part of Brexit. Following an outcry and frantic discussions between, London, Belfast, Dublin and Brussels, the EU backtracked, publishing a statement just before midnight saying it would ensure that the Northern Ireland Protocol, designed to keep the border open, would not be affected. The EU is currently locked in a row over supplies of a COVID-19 vaccine with AstraZeneca after the drug-maker said last week it would cut deliveries in the first quarter due to production issues at a Belgian factory.
Source – Reuters, Daily Mail, Polskie Radio
Poland is among the five EU countries that have best weathered the coronavirus crisis, a senior official said on Friday. The country’s Central Statistical Office said in an estimate released earlier in the day that the Polish economy shrank 2.8 percent in 2020. The Polish Prime Minister’s Office has previously said that some 6 million jobs have been saved throughout the country thanks to measures including a massive relief and stimulus package designed to shield the economy from the coronavirus. Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday signed into law the country’s budget for 2021, which expects the economy to rebound and grow 4 percent as it emerges from the coronavirus shock.
Source – Polskie Radio
Polish conductor Marta Gardolińska has been appointed as music director of the Opera National de Lorraine in the eastern French town of Nancy. She is the first Pole to take up a top position with a French opera company. Her three-year contract begins in September. On February 4th she will conduct the Nancy orchestra in a concert called “Dream of Destiny”, which is to be broadcast live by Radio France. 32 year old Gardolińska is a graduate of the Warsaw Music Academy.
Source – Polskie Radio
And finally, one of two large stained-glass windows at Gdańsk’s 120 year old main train station has been restored to its former glory as renovation works continue at the site. As reported on the First news website, a huge, 41 square metre art nouveau window has been re-installed in the main hall of the station, overlooking the tracks. The window constructed from delicate cathedral glass depicts a number of railway related themes and will also include an outer “wind-shield” glass cover and an inner shield inside the station hall. Work is continuing on the second main window facing the front of the station.
Source – thefirstnews.com
Weather
Today will be a cloudy day with light snow at times on a gentle breeze and temperatures reaching freezing point (32 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, dropping to -5 degrees overnight. Sunday will be a cloudy day with a moderate breeze and temperatures of -1 degrees centigrade during the day and -5 degrees overnight.
RGEN
