The Polish minister of finance, Tadeusz Kościński, has resigned from the government. A PiS party spokesperson said he took political responsibility for „certain shortcomings that have occurred in the implementation of the new tax rules”.

Major tax changes came into force on 1 January under the so-called Polish Order programme, but were beset by problems.

Prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday that the last two weeks had been better than the first two weeks of January, when there had been “irregularities due to lack of action”.

PiS party president Jarosław Kaczyński told the Polish Press Agency that some of those who were preparing for the introduction of the tax changes maybe lacked sufficient qualifications, and maybe also lacked good will.

The new tax system initially appeared to leave many people worse off, until the government announced amendments.

Source: radiogdansk.pl

President Andrzej Duda says the European Commission has welcomed his initiative to end Poland’s dispute with the EU over changes to the country’s judiciary.

Duda’s proposal, which he outlined last week, would dissolve the Disciplinary Chamber of Poland’s Supreme Court, and establish a Chamber of Professional Responsibility.

The president met yesterday with the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Council Charles Michel.

Duda said afterwards that he hoped his proposal would end the discussions between Poland and the European Commission on the matter, and heal the situation in the Supreme Court.

Duda also added that European unity is needed, saying that “any disputes in the EU are now a mill for our opponents”.

Source: PAP, rp.pl

The UK’s defence secretary has announced that his country will send a further 350 soldiers to Poland, in order to send a “strong signal” to Vladimir Putin that Poland and Great Britain are “side by side” in this conflict.

The move comes as a response to Russia’s build-up of troops around Ukraine.

The new British forces will be Royal Marines, who will carry out contingency planning and joint exercises.

They will join 100 Royal Engineers who are already in Poland helping with security on the border with Belarus.

The deployment is part of bilateral agreement rather than a Nato mission.

Source: thetimes.co.uk, tvn24.pl

Czechs are piling across the border to buy cheap food and petrol in Poland, according to Czech media.

VAT cuts introduced by the Polish government to combat inflation mean that prices here are now highly attractive by comparison.

A litre of petrol costs around EUR 1.16 in Poland, compared to almost one and a half euros (EUR 1.49) in the Czech Republic.

Czech drivers can take a maximum of 20 litres at a time back over the border, and there are reports of some making multiple journeys back and forth.

The Czech newspaper Youth Front Today also reported long queues for meat, dairy and fruit.

Oranges in Poland, for example, cost less than half the price in the Czech Republic.

Source: thefirstnews.com

A 29-year-old man has been arrested after he tried to break into the lion enclosure at Warsaw Zoo.

The man drove his car into the zoo, and then used a crowbar to try to open the door to the lion’s den.

He was stopped by an animal handler.

Police say that the man had been under the influence of drugs, and was found to be carrying marijuana and amphetamines.

Source: PAP

Weather

Today will be cloudy with clear spells in Gdańsk, and a chance of some light rain this afternoon. The high will be 4°C, 39°F. Overnight temperatures will hover around the same, climbing tomorrow to 7°C, 44°F, with a similar outlook to today.

Andrew Carter/ua