Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz and US Special Representative Kurt Volker met recently in Toronto to discuss “how to strengthen efforts to support reform and create an open, dynamic Ukraine.”
Both officials stressed the importance of a strong, secure Ukraine which would be well integrated in the region. To this end, Mr. Volker and Mr. Czaputowicz sought to engage with the newly elected Ukrainain president, Volodymyr Zelensky, emphasizing the need to bolster his government and democratic elections in Ukraine.
European Commissioner for Internal Market Services, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, echoed their sentiments but stressed the need to support civil society organizations as well. “The EU,” she posted in a tweet, is focused on “build[ing] a well functioning support system that will help Ukrainians in their courageous daily efforts to reform their country towards a well functioning and prosperous state.”
To illustrate the effectiveness of EU measures, Bieńkowska pointed out that Poland has now overtaken Russia as Ukraine’s largest trading partner, an important first step toward strengthening Ukrainian autonomy and security.
In good news for gamers and Netflix connoisseurs, Poland’s leading cable TV and broadband operator, UPC Polska, has expanded its gigabit internet service to Gdańsk and seven other cities across Poland.
After launching the service in Warsaw last year, UPC has expanded the offer to include Gdańsk, Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Wrocław, Katowice, Częstochowa and Kraków. An additional five cities are scheduled to receive the gigabit service by the end of the summer, making it available to some two million households across Poland.
According to the CEO of UPC Polska, the new fibre-based network will allow “breakthrough gigabit speeds in 12 cities across Poland, reaching 60% of households within the range of our network. [This] will allow us to strengthen our position as a market leader, continuing our strategy of delivering the highest speeds and the best Wi-Fi to our clients.”
Media giant Netflix is reportedly looking into the possibility of opening a local office in Poland as early as 2020.
Netflix is reportedly in the process of recruiting a senior business development manager, fluent in both English and Polish for its Central and Eastern Europe office in Amsterdam.
The new manager will join Poles already in top management positions there, including the Content Acquisition and the Marketing Directors for Central Eastern Europe. Netflix also has European offices in Berlin, London, Madrid and Paris. Netflix is remaining coy about any Polish plans, responding only that they would “consider such an option…if and when opening a local office would make sense.”
For those still mourning Game of Thrones, Netflix has just unveiled the first promotional materials for its adaption of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series, set to be released later this year.
Featuring seasoned actor Henry Cavill as Geralt as well as relative newcomers Anya Chalotra as the sorceress Yennefer and Freya Allan as the princess Ciri, the release of the promotional photos – accompanied by the intriguing tagline “The worst monsters are the ones we create” – caused the hashtag #TheWitcher to trend worldwide on Twitter on Monday.
Sapkowski himself served as a creative consultant on the project saying the adaptation is true to the source material and the themes he has spent over 30 years writing.”
The entire series will be released on Netflix sometime in 2019, with a trailer and release date rumoured to be part of The Witcher’s panel presentation at San Diego Comic Con on July 19.
Sapkowski’s novels have been translated into over 20 languages and Sapkowski himself has become a recognizable Polish cultural icon around the world.
EP/RGEN
