The Polish government has announced plans to begin charging Ukrainian war refugees for the cost of state-provided housing.

Draft legislation announced yesterday by the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, proposes that refugees who remain more than four months in public housing will contribute 50 percent of the cost, up to 40 zlotys per person, per day.

After six months the contribution will rise to 75 percent, and a maximum of 60 zlotys per day.

Exemptions will include disabled people, children, pregnant women, senior citizens, families with babies under one year old, and those caring for three or more children.

The prime minister said that the government has “been preparing… for a new, possible wave of refugees… and [wants the] system to be properly prepared so that the Polish taxpayer pays as little as possible.”

He added that talks with partners from Canada, the US and Western Europe are underway with a view to providing funding to Poland as soon as possible “in order to offer assistance to refugees”.

The draft bill will go to parliament and is expected to come into force from 1 March next year.

Source: PAP, thefirstnews.com

The Supreme Court has reinstated a suspended judge who has been strongly critical of the government’s changes to Poland’s judicial system.

The court’s Chamber of Professional Responsibility also refused to approve the detention of Judge Igor Tuleya so that he could be brought before a prosecutor.

Tuleya faces criminal charges of breaching the secrecy of an investigation, and was stripped of his immunity in 2020 by the since-disbanded Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court.

After the ruling the judge told the Polish Press Agency, PAP, that he will return to work today, but that he is “ready for any turn of events”.

The prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said when asked about the ruling that “the Chamber of Professional Responsibility makes decisions completely independently”, and that “contrary to various kinds of slander, [the government] really want[s] decisions to be made fully independently by all judicial authorities, regardless whether they are in favour of this or that political opinion”.

Source: polskieradio24.pl, PAP, thefirstnews.com

A Białystok-based Lego enthusiast has been wowing the modelling world with his version of a rustic Podlasie cabin made from 3,000 of the plastic building bricks.

Builder Łukasz Więcek entered the model, named the House of Open Shutters, into the Lego Ideas category on the company’s website in mid-November, and has earned more than 10,000 votes in 10 days.

The miniature cottage captures the charms of rural life by including a log fire, candles, a bookshelf—and a box of chocolates sitting next to a pot of tea.

Outside there are blue-and-white shutters at the windows, flowerpots, a well, and a picket fence.

Więcek put the model together in six weeks after being approached by the Podlasie tourism office.

He was previously a runner-up in the first season of the TV show Lego Masters.

Now his cottage creation will undergo detailed assessment by experts at the Lego company before they decide whether to include it in their official collection.

Source: thefirstnews.com

Poland’s football coach Czesław Michniewicz says that tonight’s World Cup match between Poland and Argentina will be a duel of two teams, not just a clash between star strikers Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi.

A draw will be enough for Poland to advance beyond the group stage for the first time since 1986.

Argentina needs a win to go forward, after their surprise loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening match.

Michniewicz said that since the groups were drawn “the whole world has been waiting for this match”.

He told reporters that “we rely on these great strikers but an individual cannot win alone,” adding that “Robert needs his teammates, the same as Leo.”

The game, in Stadium 974 in Qatar, begins at 8pm Polish time.

Source: theguardian.com, AP, Reuters

Weather

Temperatures in Gdańsk will lift to just above freezing today, peaking at 2°C (35°F) this afternoon, with the sky clouding over later on, and winds staying light and south-easterly. Overnight the mercury will settle around freezing point, with the outlook for tomorrow very similar to today.

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