A host of new Cabinet ministers took up their roles after Poland’s new government, led by incoming Prime Minister Donald Tusk, was sworn into office Wednesday morning.
President Andrzej Duda swore in the new Polish government during a high-profile ceremony in the Presidential Palace Wednesday morning, and the new Cabinet members assumed their duties shortly after their first meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Warsaw.
Adam Bodnar, a former ombudsman, took over as justice minister and vowed to “do everything in his power” to “fix the rule of law in Poland,” pledging Poland will be fulfilling its obligations under international agreements” while being a “loyal member of the European Union.”
Bodnar’s words were echoed by the new minister for EU funds and regional policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, who said the government would “very swiftly” unblock the EUR 59.8 billion in grants and loans from the EU, frozen due to Warsaw’s dispute with Brussels over democratic standards.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is currently in Brussels for a European Council meeting on Ukraine, told reporters on Wednesday that there is a “90-percent chance” that the European Union will unblock the first billions of euros in funding for Poland by Friday.
Source: Polskie Radio
President Duda will take part in a ceremony to light Hannukah candles in Polish parliament today after they were forcibly extinguished by far-right MP Grzegorz Braun earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Braun, a member of the far-right Konfederacja party, used a powder fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles lit in the Sejm as part of a display dedicated to the Jewish holiday, later describing the candles as “Satanic.”
Braun’s actions and remarks were roundly condemned by political and religious figures across Poland, and the MP was subsequently fined and then excluded from sitting in parliament, with the case referred to prosecutors by the Office of the Sejm. The Konfederacja party also told reporters they had suspended Braun from his duties and banned him from speaking in the Sejm.
According to presidential minister Wojciech Kolarski, President Duda will attend today’s lighting ceremony “to show, together with the Speaker of the Sejm, the true image of Poland: a Poland that is proud of its history, tradition, and culture, which includes the history of Polish Jews.”
Earlier this week, Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda hosted representatives of the Jewish community at the Presidential Palace and Warsaw to extend their official holiday greetings on the eight-day festival, which ends December 15.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the war of liberation in 164 BC and the miracle of lamp oil that burned continuously for eight days.
The candle-lighting ceremony in the Sejm is set to take place today at 16:00 CET.
Source: PAP, Polskie Radio
The European anti-missile defense shield in Redzikowo is set to become operational on Friday, according to comments made earlier this week by outgoing prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
The Polish Sejm originally agreed to the construction of the US missile defense base in September 2015. The base is one of the European elements of the Aegis Ashore anti-missile defense system, designed to “defend NATO European states against ballistic missile threats originating outside the Euro-Atlantic area.”
According to written testimony by Rear Admiral Douglas Williams, acting director of the US Missile Defense Agency, the United States Navy “will formally accept Aegis Ashore Poland into their inventory on December 15,” with plans to transfer the base to NATO in July 2024.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, BBC, armedservices.house.gov
Polish tennis phenom and current World No. 1 Iga Świątek has been named Player of the Year by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
The 22-year-old was voted WTA Player of the Year for the second year in a row, becoming the first player to earn the accolade in back-to-back seasons since Serena Williams from 2012 to 2016, the WTA said.
After temporarily losing her spot to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka earlier this year, Świątek regained her spot at the top of the world rankings after her undefeated victory at the season-ending WTA Finals tournament in Mexico last month.
Her coach, fellow countryman Tomasz Wiktorowski, has also been recognized as the 2023 WTA Coach of the Year “for his prominent role in making the Polish star a dominant force in their two years together,” according to the wtatennis.com website.
Source: Polskie Radio
Weather
Today will be mostly cloudy and cold, with very little chance of rain or snow and a light breeze coming from the northeast. Temperatures will remain close to freezing with a high of 2°C, or 35°F, dropping slightly overnight to a low of -1°C or 31°F. Slightly warmer weather is expected tomorrow, with even warmer temps expected over the weekend.
Elizabeth Peck/aKa
