Health Minister Adam Niedzielski announced yesterday that Poland may have reached the peak of the fourth wave of coronavirus based on a recent decline in the number of daily infections. In a tweet posted yesterday, Niedzielski pointed out that Saturday’s rates marked “the second day in a row when the fall in the number of new infections from week to week exceeds 5 percent…the 7-day average, which has been above 23,000 for 2 weeks, has finally started to decline.”
Officials had previously warned that infection rates could reach 40,000 a day before the fourth wave began to subside. It remains to be seen how the spread of the Omicron variant will affect the current trajectory of the disease.
Source: PAP, Radio Poland
International ratings agency Fitch has upgraded its forecast for Poland’s GDP growth this year to 6.4 percent, from a previous projection of 5.7 percent.
Last August, the company confirmed Poland’s „A-” credit rating and gave the country a “stable” outlook even as economies worldwide struggled with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
At the same time, Fitch downgraded its projection for Polish economic growth in 2022 from 4.5 percent to 4.3 percent. Poland’s economy shrank 2.7 percent in 2020, after posting 4.7 percent growth in 2019, according to Poland’s own Central Statistical Office (GUS).
Source: PAP, Radio Poland
EU officials have begun discussions to temporarily eliminate VAT on basic food products amid rising prices across the bloc, with Poland aiming to introduce cuts even earlier.
Last week, the European Union’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), consisting of the bloc’s ministers of economy and finance, agreed on the text of an amendment to the VAT directive, which would temporarily introduce zero VAT on food items across the EU.
The amendment now awaits formal adoption by the European Council in the first half of 2022.
Poland wants to introduce the VAT exemptions to products such as bread, dairy, vegetables, and meat earlier to help residents deal with increasing prices amidst the country’s record inflation.
In a letter sent to European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni on Thursday, Poland’s finance minister Tadeusz Kościński called for the possibility of introducing the cut for six months without the formal delay.
According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS), Poland’s inflation stood at 7.7 percent in year-on-year terms in November, the highest level seen this century.
Source: Radio Poland
A series of special events will kick off tonight in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the introduction of martial law in Poland.
At 18:00 on Radio Gdańsk, there will be a debate and discussion on the tragic events leading up to the imposition of martial law, followed by a concert at 19:00 by the band Fabryka, featuring songs from their album „Dziwny Stan” about the events of December 1981.
Martial law was introduced on the night of December 12-13, 1981, and lasted until 22 July 1983. Over 10,000 people were detained or imprisoned during this period, and roughly 40 people lost their lives, including 9 miners from the “Wujek” mine near Katowice.
An exhibition on this period, entitled “Martial Law 1981-1983” opened last Friday on the first floor of the Solidarity headquarters in Gdańsk. The exhibition, which was organized by the Institute of National Remembrance in Gdańsk together with the „Solidarity” trade union, will remain open until December 29.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be partly cloudy and cold, with very little chance of rain or snow and a gentle breeze coming in from the southwest. Temperatures will peak at just above freezing today with a high of 1°C, or 34°F, dropping overnight to a low of -4°C or 25°F. Cold, cloudy weather is expected to continue throughout the week, with a chance for some sunshine returning next weekend.
EPeck/pb
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski announced yesterday that Poland may have reached the peak of the fourth wave of coronavirus based on a recent decline in the number of daily infections.
In a tweet posted yesterday, Niedzielski pointed out that Saturday’s rates marked “the second day in a row when the fall in the number of new infections from week to week exceeds 5 percent…the 7-day average, which has been above 23,000 for 2 weeks, has finally started to decline.”
Officials had previously warned that infection rates could reach 40,000 a day before the fourth wave began to subside. It remains to be seen how the spread of the Omicron variant will affect the current trajectory of the disease.
Source: PAP, Radio Poland
International ratings agency Fitch has upgraded its forecast for Poland’s GDP growth this year to 6.4 percent, from a previous projection of 5.7 percent.
Last August, the company confirmed Poland’s „A-” credit rating and gave the country a “stable” outlook even as economies worldwide struggled with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
At the same time, Fitch downgraded its projection for Polish economic growth in 2022 from 4.5 percent to 4.3 percent. Poland’s economy shrank 2.7 percent in 2020, after posting 4.7 percent growth in 2019, according to Poland’s own Central Statistical Office (GUS).
Source: PAP, Radio Poland
EU officials have begun discussions to temporarily eliminate VAT on basic food products amid rising prices across the bloc, with Poland aiming to introduce cuts even earlier.
Last week, the European Union’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), consisting of the bloc’s ministers of economy and finance, agreed on the text of an amendment to the VAT directive, which would temporarily introduce zero VAT on food items across the EU.
The amendment now awaits formal adoption by the European Council in the first half of 2022.
Poland wants to introduce the VAT exemptions to products such as bread, dairy, vegetables, and meat earlier to help residents deal with increasing prices amidst the country’s record inflation.
In a letter sent to European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni on Thursday, Poland’s finance minister Tadeusz Kościński called for the possibility of introducing the cut for six months without the formal delay.
According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS), Poland’s inflation stood at 7.7 percent in year-on-year terms in November, the highest level seen this century.
Source: Radio Poland
A series of special events will kick off tonight in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the introduction of martial law in Poland.
At 18:00 on Radio Gdańsk, there will be a debate and discussion on the tragic events leading up to the imposition of martial law, followed by a concert at 19:00 by the band Fabryka, featuring songs from their album „Dziwny Stan” about the events of December 1981.
Martial law was introduced on the night of December 12-13, 1981, and lasted until 22 July 1983. Over 10,000 people were detained or imprisoned during this period, and roughly 40 people lost their lives, including 9 miners from the “Wujek” mine near Katowice.
An exhibition on this period, entitled “Martial Law 1981-1983” opened last Friday on the first floor of the Solidarity headquarters in Gdańsk. The exhibition, which was organized by the Institute of National Remembrance in Gdańsk together with the „Solidarity” trade union, will remain open until December 29.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be partly cloudy and cold, with very little chance of rain or snow and a gentle breeze coming in from the southwest. Temperatures will peak at just above freezing today with a high of 1°C, or 34°F, dropping overnight to a low of -4°C or 25°F. Cold, cloudy weather is expected to continue throughout the week, with a chance for some sunshine returning next weekend.
