The European Commission is reportedly prepared to approve a multi-billion-euro recovery plan for Poland as early as next month, albeit with strict conditions attached.

If approved, Warsaw could get 23 billion euros in EU grants and 34 billion in affordable loans.
Approval has been stalled, however, by ongoing questions regarding rule of law protections and the primacy of EU law in Poland.

According to a report last week by Reuters, the Commission has expressed concerns that Poland’s right-wing government, led by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, is undermining the independence of courts, media, and non-governmental organizations in Poland and has yet to fully implement verdicts handed down by the EU’s top court.

Addressing these shortcomings is a condition for the approval of EU grants and loans under the recovery scheme. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, officials said that a highly contested conditionality mechanism could be used to move the issue forward in the coming weeks. The mechanism was a key component of the recovery fund when it was voted and agreed upon in 2020.

Source: Radio Poland

The Polish Pavilion at the Expo 2020 World Fair opened in Dubai on Friday after a year’s delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event, which runs until March 31 and features exhibitions by more than 190 countries, is expected to attract over 20 million international visitors to the United Arab Emirates during the next six months.

Under the theme of “Creativity Inspired by Nature,” some 2,500 Polish firms are poised to showcase their wares as part of the “Polish Pavilion,” with over 1,000 events planned to promote Polish culture and business.

A sample of Poland’s nature-inspired creativity can be viewed online at www.expo2020dubai.com.

Source: Radio Poland

New rules came into force today in the UK for travelers arriving from so-called “amber list” countries such as Poland.

Under the new regulations, fully vaccinated travelers from Poland are no longer required to provide a negative COVID test before arriving in the UK and will only be required to book and pay for one COVID test on or before their second day in the UK.

Fully vaccinated travelers only stopping over in London are still required to book and pay for a COVID test but not required to take the test if leaving before Day 2.

Unvaccinated travelers arriving in the UK are still subject to the previous COVID regulations, which require a negative COVID test no more than three days before arrival, followed by additional tests taken on Day 2 and Day 8.

Updated travel requirements can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19

Source: gov.uk

Staff at the Wrocław Zoo were overjoyed last week to discover a baby blue spotted ribbon-tail stingray during a routine morning aquarium check.

Upon closer inspection of the zoo’s 3.5 million-liter Mozambique Canal basin, three more camouflaged baby stingrays were discovered hiding under rock overhangs, spaces “where they felt safe,” according to zoo officials.

Wroclaw Zoo aquarium manager Jakub Kordas called the birth a big surprise, adding that his team had waited six years for this extremely rare moment. Previously, there was only one documented instance in the world of this species giving birth in captivity.

The baby rays, a male and three females, currently measure around 30-34 cm (12-14 inches) in diameter and can grow up to 1.8 meters or nearly six feet.

The blue-spotted ribbon-tail stingray, also known as “Kuhl’s maskray,” can still be found in sandbanks and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans but faces increasing threats from habitat degradation and overfishing, as well as increasing demand for the animal for home aquariums.

Source: Radio Poland, zootierliste.de

Weather

Today will be partly cloudy and warm, with very little chance of rain and a gentle breeze coming in from the south. Temperatures will peak around a high of 19°C, or 66°F, cooling off overnight to a low of 11°C or 51°F. Similar weather is set for tomorrow with some additional wind gusts from the north, with a chance for rain returning on Wednesday and Thursday.

RGen/EPeck