President Andrzej Duda is due to meet shortly with the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Sviatlana Cichanouska.
The meeting will take place at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

Jakub Kumoch, the head of the presidential International Policy Bureau, told the Polish Press Agency that Poland’s government sees Cichanouska as someone who speaks on behalf of the Belarusian people.

He added that Poland is in dispute with the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, and not with the citizens of Belarus.

Kumoch also said the Polish government appreciated that the Belarusian opposition had made it clear to the world that it was Lukashenko alone who was responsible for the migrant crisis on the border.

Source: PAP

PM salutes miners in historic underground protests against martial law

Prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has paid tribute to the group of more than a thousand miners who in 1981 protested underground for two weeks against the imposition of martial law in Poland.

Morawiecki said that without the men’s actions there would be no freedom in the country.

The strike at the Piast mine in Bieruń lasted through Christmas 1981, without food or lighting for the miners.

There were similar protests at other pits including at Ziemowit and Wujek, where 9 miners were shot by ZOMO paramilitaries.

The prime minster said in a speech that the communist regime had imposed martial law to suppress Solidarity and the dreams that were being born.

He thanked the miners on behalf of all Poles, saying their courage had brought freedoms that we all enjoy today.

Source: tvp.info

Interest rates to rise for third month running

Interest rates have gone up again, this time by half a percent.

The rise—the third in three months—takes the reference rate to 1.75 percent.

The same figure was just one-tenth of a percent before October’s first increase.

Source: PAP

British troops deploy on Poland-Belarus border

The first British soldiers have begun working to support Polish troops at the border with Belarus.

The defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak wrote on Twitter that the Brits’ tasks are to repair the border fence, and to clear and maintain road connections.

155 British soldiers have permission from the president to remain on Polish soil until the end of April next year.

Likewise up to 150 Estonian troops are also allowed to provide engineering and reconnaissance support.

Source: PAP

Airport passenger numbers on the rise again

The number of passengers using Gdańsk airport has bounced back by 17 percent this year compared to last year.

Figures released yesterday showed just under 2 million passengers passed through the airport in 11 months to November.

However numbers for the whole of 2021 are set to be way down on two years ago, when 5.4 million people used the airport.

Source: radiogdansk.pl

Weather

Expect a cloudy day after a frosty start this morning, and strong, gusty winds along the coast. Today’s high in Gdańsk will be minus 2°C, 28°F, and overnight will remain more or less the same, with sleet and more freezing weather in store tomorrow.

RGEN/AGC