The European Union and the United States have officially imposed sanctions against Russian officials and businesses connected with the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The coordinated US and the EU response marks the first major step toward a clear denouncement of the Kremlin as the mastermind behind the poisoning of Navalny last summer.
The measures target a range of Kremlin officials, including Igor Krasnov, Russia’s prosecutor general, Viktor Zolotov, head of the National Guard, and Alexander Kalashnikov, head of the Federal Prison Service. The EU sanctions focus primarily on Navalny’s arrest and detention. In contrast, US sanctions target those responsible for his poisoning, including companies inside and outside Russia with ties to biological and chemical manufacturing.
The Kremlin has condemned the move and promised a swift response.
Source: DW, NYT
The EU’s top court ruled yesterday that Polish Supreme Court candidates should have the right to challenge the decisions of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS).
In a statement on social media, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) posited that successive amendments to a Polish law regulating the work of the KRS could infringe EU law.
The ruling follows a series of disputes between Poland and the EU after the passage of Poland’s controversial judicial reform bill in November 2017. Following the vote, the European Commission took the unprecedented step of invoking Article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union, a move that could potentially strip Poland of voting rights within the 27-member bloc.
Last April, the ECJ ordered Poland to immediately suspend a disciplinary chamber within its Supreme Court that critics have said could punish judges for their decisions.
Poland’s Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, one of the main architects of the government’s judiciary reforms, said in a comment that the ECJ was overstepping its mandate and that its ruling was “unacceptable.”
Source: Radio Poland
US e-commerce giant Amazon has finally delivered on promises to launch a Poland-based website for its services.
According to news reports by onet.pl, Amazon’s online marketplace is now available to both sellers and buyers in Poland, with a variety of promotional deals for new and returning customers.
Amazon has been operating in Poland since 2014 and now has nine logistics centers in the country, but customers were previously diverted to a Germany-based website for orders, increasing costs for both buyers and consumers.
According to a report earlier this year by Reuters, the long-anticipated move is expected to give a further boost to Poland’s growing e-commerce market. But the plan could upset Poland’s dominant e-commerce player, Allegro, which enjoyed a buoyant stock market debut in October and whose shares slipped over 7 percent after Amazon made the announcement in late January.
Source: Radio Poland, Reuters
After dominating in a matchup against Puszcza Niepołomice yesterday afternoon, Arka Gdynia has advanced to the semi-finals of the Polish Cup.
Players and fans “could not have imagined a better Tuesday afternoon” after Arka defeated the 11th-ranked team 5:2 yesterday. The victory was more than partially due to the efforts of striker Marcus Vinicius, who scored two of the five goals, putting him just one goal shy of matching Stanisław Gadecki, Arka’s top-ranked scorer of all time.
The next match in the Polish cup competition is set for April 7, with the opponent to be determined later this week.
Weather
Today will be partly cloudy and mild, with a gentle breeze coming in from the west and very little chance of rain or snow. Temperatures will stay well above freezing during the day, with a high of 9°C, or 49°F, dropping to 1°C or 34°F overnight. Clouds will begin gathering overnight, with a chance for rain or snow during the day tomorrow.
RGEN
