PKN Orlen, Poland’s leading fuel company, is seeking compensation from its Russian suppliers for contaminated crude oil. In a statement from the company, CEO Daniel Obajtek was quoted as saying that the company was determined to determined to retrieve all the costs it had incurred, which costs comprise processing the crude oil, protecting refinery installations, and the purchase of additional petroleum.
Orlen
Memory of Kornel
The Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, was in Wroclaw yesterday to take part in the unveiling ceremony of a plaque dedicated to the memory of his father. A former senior speaker of the Sejm and the founder of Fighting Solidarity, Kornel Morawiecki died at the end of September at the age of 78.
”My father’s mission was to implant freedom and solidarity. These two values combined together represented the quintessence of his life. Freedom – he was always taking risks, experimenting, finding new solutions for Poland, for the world and for people. And solidarity – which means connecting people, searching for peace and democracy – he was always doing that. I’m very thankful to everyone who reminds us how much he loved these two values, which are timeless” says Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of Poland.
”The portal provides source materials that range from the brutal years of World War 2 until the last day of communism in Poland. All of it neatly arranged and very clearly laid out. Some multimedia files are available to the public for the first time. We continue our research on our dramatic but victorious history from 1917 to 1989”- says Prof.Szarek, Chairman of the Institute of National Remembrance.
The Institute of National Remembrance has been working for 20 years. We’ve published almost 3000 books, thousands of articles and held 500 exhibitions. Today we start a new venture with our Next Stop History program – that is the new website, and I invite you to browse this resource.
”A virtual trip, real history – this is the slogan that promotes our newest digital child of the Institute of National Remembrance – the portal Przystanekhistoria.pl. This portal presents the 20 century history of Poland and Poles in a very synthetic and accessible way.
Apart from our stories you can also find here the information about meetings and lectures that are organized in our locations all over Poland and in many places in the world. You can browse our events and find the most interesting ones and the most convenient by location.
You will notice that Przystanekhistoria.pl provides you with an opportunity to take a digital trip into the history of our country as well as to reach living witnesses of history or authors of books that are produced by the Institute of National Remembrance”- says Rafał Leśkiewicz PHD, Chief Editor Przystanekhistoria.pl
Trump: This is democracy madness
US President Donald Trump has once again described the impeachment procedure against him as a “witch hunt”. According to the president, the Democrats, who are demanding his resignation, are beginning now to regret starting this process. During a meeting with voters in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump described this as the weakest impeachment ever.
Johnson test
Today’s general election in the UK will be a great test for all the British political parties. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party face the greatest challenge. Johnson called the election to break the parliamentary deadlock over Brexit. Tomorrow, in the first December election since 1924, voters will decide whether or not they will give the Prime Minister the mandate he seeks to finalize Brexit on the terms of his deal.
On the final day before the parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom, the political campaign is at its peak. Recent polls suggest a victory for the Conservative Party, but a Tory victory is not certain. Party leaders are head-to-head in last minute attempts to attract undecided voters: some speak at rallies, others… bake cake.
The Conservative Party needs an independent majority in the House of Commons to be able to carry out Brexit, according to its plan. Meanwhile, the media is sharply criticizing the behaviour of Johnson, who during one interview ignored the situation of a boy diagnosed with pneumonia who had to lie on a hospital floor because of a lack of beds.
As the campaign ends, the leaders of all parties are mobilizing their supporters.
In order to be certain of gaining an independent majority, the conservatives must obtain over 40% of the votes, as well as a 10-point poll lead over the Labour Party. If this happens, Boris Johnson will be able to finalize Brexit by the end of January 2020 on the terms of the deal which the House of Commons approved.
Deadly ''green order”
Ursula von der Layen, the new President of the European Commission, yesterday presented the proposed “new deal” on EU climate policy named the “Green Deal” which she compared to the landing of a man on the moon. From Poland’s perspective, this “Green Deal” on climate, as proposed by the European Commission, might be deadly, unless it is connected to a compensation system that will allow a gradual change in the energy mix on which the Polish economy is currently based.
The Green Deal is a priority of the new European Commission. For the time being it is a plan to reach this goal and the particular regulations are to be presented next year.The European Green Deal is a new strategy of development for Europe. For Poland, the major change in energy sources means enormous costs and this is why Poland is counting on receiving funds from a new program called Just Transition Fund.
”Poland is a country with a relatively small emission in total, so our impact on climate change is minor. That of course does not mean that we should stay away from the energy policy of the European Union, but we should primarily pay attention to the energy transformation stability and security. We shall compensate the losses to the economy”- says Jakub Wiech, Energetyka24.com
In order to get acceptance for the European Green Deal program from the coal dependent countries, for which such a move would be costly, the EU commission proposed the creation of a Just Transition Fund. It is planned to be in the amount of 100 billion Euros. In the meantime, experts say that the coal is a basic source of energy for the Polish economy and for individual consumers. Low price of energy equals to the competitiveness of Polish economy and forcing the change too quickly, as suggested by the European Commission, might require more time than Brussels wants.
Kaminski will bring declassified CIA documents on fall of communism
During his visit to the United States, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski received declassified materials from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) about the fall of communism in Central European countries.
Stanisław Zaryn, press spokesman of Minister Kaminski, said on Wednesday PAP that recently declassified documents include 105 short-term CIA analyzes regarding the end of communism in Europe. Zaryn said that the materials not only document the fall of communism in Poland, but also refer to other Central European and Balkan countries. The minister had read the documents earlier – immediately after declassification. After returning to Poland, he will present American documents to the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN).
The official publication and discussion on CIA archived articles was the culmination of the Washington conference on the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union, during which Kaminski was the main speaker. The conference was co-organized by the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Scientists and the CIA.
Matejko's Copernicus at The National Gallery
The painting by Jan Matejko “Astronomer Copernicus, or conversation with God” will be presented at The National Gallery in London in 2020. It will be the first time for a Polish painter’s work to go to the most important British art gallery.
The picture will be accompanied by a copy of the most important work of Mikołaj Kopernik “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” from 1543 (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres). The exhibition at The National Gallery will be presented from July 29 to November 15, 2020. A painting dating from 1873, sized 225 cm by 315 cm, is normally found in the auditorium of the Collegium Novum of the Jagiellonian University. Matejko painted it to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Copernicus’ birth. The National Gallery is located at Trafalgar Square and is the most important painting gallery in Great Britain and one of the most visited museums in the world.The picture will be accompanied by a copy of the most important work of Mikołaj Kopernik “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” from 1543 (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres). The exhibition at The National Gallery will be presented from July 29 to November 15, 2020. A painting dating from 1873, sized 225 cm by 315 cm, is normally found in the auditorium of the Collegium Novum of the Jagiellonian University. Matejko painted it to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Copernicus’ birth. The National Gallery is located at Trafalgar Square and is the most important painting gallery in Great Britain and one of the most visited museums in the world.
Prestigious position for a Pole
The President of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency Janusz Janiszewski officially took over the chairmanship of the Steering Board of A6, an alliance of the largest European air navigation institutions, including Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain and Italy – Agency informed today.
As spokesman of Agency Paweł Łukaszewicz explained, Janiszewski’s term will last one year. It will start on January 1, 2020 and will last until the end of the year. Until the end of December this year, A6 will be chaired by Robert Neri, head of ENAV, the Italian equivalent of Agency. Łukaszewicz added that the new chairman would develop joint positions of the A6 alliance and represent him at high-level meetings. – Every year, A6 sets out its priorities or program to be implemented. They are usually continuous tasks, but more and more often new elements require our attention. I see A6 as an alliance with great potential and we should use it – said its president Janusz Janiszewski, quoted in the Agency’s announcement.