Polish officials announced yesterday that they are building a coalition of countries to resist parts of the European Union’s “Fit for 55″ climate and energy package. “Fit for 55” is an ambitious package of climate-and-energy policies that aims to cut greenhouse-gas emissions in the EU by 55 percent by 2030, as compared to 1990 levels. According to reports by the Polish Press Agency, the initiative would require an estimated EUR 500 billion annual investment to implement.
In an interview with state broadcaster TVP Info, government spokesperson Piotr Müller described the EU package as still “subject to massive negotiations” because “some member countries want to make emissions cuts in agriculture, while others are talking fossil fuels, transport, housing, or heat engineering.”
According to Muller, Poland’s proposed coalition is opposed to “certain provisions that threaten to shift the burden of energy transition to the less well-off.” He went on to argue that multinational corporations “which do not pay taxes in the EU” should “bear these costs” instead of „poor and middle-income citizens.”
Source: Radio Poland, PAP
Canada and Britain have reportedly sent troops to Ukraine amidst the Russian military buildup near the Ukrainian border.
According to Canadian broadcaster CTV News, the Canadian government has deployed a small contingent of special forces operators to Ukraine to assist the government in Kyiv and act as a deterrent. The unit will also help develop evacuation plans for Canadian diplomatic personnel in the event of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The news followed an earlier announcement by UK officials that Britain would also be sending troops to the region. On Monday, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told the UK House of Commons that a small contingent of British troops would be sent to Ukraine to help train soldiers amid rising tensions in the region.
Source: Reuters, Radio Poland, CTV News
In an interview yesterday on Radio Gdańsk, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna Fotyga warned of the very real threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Citing the concentration of Russian troops, intelligence reports, and Russia’s previous actions in Crimea and Georgia, Fotyga warned during the interview that “the threat of war is real.”
She went on to call out Western countries for their past mistakes and lack of “consensus on the Russian ultimatum,” calling on them to use the tools available “to try a stronger response.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is set to meet today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv before meeting with European allies later this week in Berlin. He spoke with Poland’s Foreign Minister, Zbigniew Rau, over the phone on Monday.
It was announced early this morning that Blinken would also meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Friday in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, PAP, Reuters
Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński is among 26 winners of the prestigious 2022 International Classical Music Awards.
The celebrated Polish tenor took home the “Baroque Vocal” award for his latest CD, “Anima Aeterna,” an album the jury lauded as “a must-have for all those who love baroque music.”
In its citation for the award, the ICMA jury praised Orliński as “one of the greatest countertenors of our time” who “shows not only excellent vocal abilities but also a rare musical intelligence.”
Orliński is currently performing at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in a production of Handel’s Theodora. He visited Gdańsk last September to open the 16th annual Goldberg Festival along with Capella Regia Polona, where his performance was reportedly met with “thundering applause” and “admiration.”
The official ICMA awards ceremony will take place in Luxembourg on April 21.
Source: Radio Poland, icma-info.com, Trojmiasto.pl
Weather
Today will be mostly cloudy and cold, with a slight chance of rain during the day and strong winds coming in from the southwest. Temperatures will peak around a high of 4°C, or 40°F, dropping to an overnight low of -1°C or 31°F. Similar chilly temperatures are expected throughout the week, with a chance for snow overnight and during the day tomorrow.
Elizabeth Peck/ua
