Latest news with #Polska
Washington Post
17 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
In Poland's golden hour, a looming threat to Europe's unity
KRAKOW, Poland — In this golden moment of Polish history, why do so many Poles see the future as fraught, grim, even dangerous? Across Europe's newest economic powerhouse, where living standards have leapfrogged Japan's and are on course to surpass Spain's and Israel's, incomes are surging, shops are buzzing and borders are secure — at least for now.
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Migration In Poland: Where The Two Presidential Candidates Stand
Karol Nawrocki (Left) and Rafal Trzaskowski (Right) take part in the last presidential debate before ... More elections day in Warsaw, Poland, May 12, 2025. Poland is to hold a second-round runoff election in early June to elect the next President. The two candidates appear polar opposites. Liberal-centrist Warsaw mayor, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party, is facing off against conservative Karol Nawrocki who is technically independent but supported by the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS). Both candidates are using migration in Poland as a core campaign issue. Migration, particularly irregular migration, is one of the dominant issues in the country, particularly with regards to the war in Ukraine and Poland's eastern border with Belarus. In recent years, Belarus has been accused of deliberately shepherding asylum seekers and other irregular migrants over the border with Poland, as well as other EU member states such as Lithuania and Latvia, allegedly in order to destabilize the bloc. Amid this, PM Tusk announced the right to asylum in Polish territory had been suspended, a move which was condemned by human rights groups but defended by Tusk as part of his duty 'to protect the Polish and European border.' At the same time, Poland is currently facing accusations in the European Court of Human Rights that its forces have violently repelled people trying to seek shelter. The liberal Civic Platform candidate Rafal Trzaskowski has made immigration one of the main talking points in his campaign, apparently in a bid to match his more right-wing opponent on the issue and to avoid looking 'soft' as a liberal. He has, according to the news and analysis site Notes from Poland, previously spoken out about immigrant criminality, and increased patrols in the capital during his tenure as mayor. He also endorsed PM Tusk's suspension of asylum and said he wants to cut some benefits for people sheltering in Poland. In a debate with his opponent in late May, Trzaskowski spoke out about the upcoming EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which in theory could oblige Poland to take more refugees from the Middle East and Africa or face penalties. "The migration pact will never come into force," said Trzaskowski, according to the Polish Press Agency, adding that "if we help Ukrainians, we won't take anyone else." Using the presence of Ukrainian refugees in Poland to defer responsibility for those from elsewhere is a familiar strategy in Poland. As far back as 2018, former PiS Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was invoking people fleeing Ukraine as an excuse to reject refugee resettlement from elsewhere. Nawrocki, for his part, has been even more strident on immigration. In that same debate, he called migration a 'major problem' and is reported to have said 'we need deportation centers for illegal migrants, not centers for their integration.' Notes from Poland, which has extensive analysis of the upcoming election, reported in April that Nawrocki had announced he would introduce a bill to make sure Polish citizens are not 'treated worse' than refugees in accessing public services, health- and child-care. Such rhetoric fits neatly with the existing populist playbook seen elsewhere around Europe, such as in Hungary. Such a strategy seeks to blame the EU for 'forcing' its member states to shoulder the burden of caring for refugees, at the expense of their own citizens. Poland, formerly regarded as a country of emigration has in recent years seen a significant increase in immigration. This has been driven in large part by people either fleeing Ukraine amid the war of Russian aggression, or looking for work in Poland (something that has long predated this current stage of the conflict with Russia). According to the Polish government, over 500,000 applications for residence permits were made in 2024, and Poland has long led the league table in the EU for the highest amount of permits issued each year. Whoever is elected President will play a prominent role in PM Tusk's future legislative agenda. While most political power rests with the parliament, the President has the power to veto legislation, meaning that a win for Trzaskowski would likely allow Tusk to fast-track legislation, while if Nawrocki wins there could be little progress. While migration in Poland is just one of the issues in this elections, it could prove decisive in the country's future direction.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- General
- Bloomberg
Poland's Tight Election Puts Europe on Alert for Another Jolt
The rift runs deep in Kobylka, a sleepy Polish town on the northern outskirts of Warsaw. So much so that it's not just streets, but families that are split over who to vote for in this weekend's presidential election runoff. 'I know households like mine, where one half supports one candidate and the other half is in favor of the other,' Klaudia Koczyk, 33, said as she took a break in a park while her newborn twin girls slept in the spring sunshine.
Reuters
2 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Poland's ruling party candidate narrowly leads opinion poll ahead of Sunday vote
WARSAW, May 29 (Reuters) - The candidate from Poland's ruling Civic Coalition (KO), Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, leads nationalist Karol Nawrocki in popularity ahead of Sunday's second round of the presidential election, a poll by Opinia24 for private broadcaster TVN 24 showed on Thursday. According to the poll, Trzaskowski would get 47.4% of votes and Nawrocki 46.3%, while 3.6% were undecided and 2.7% declined to answer. Trzaskowski, from Prime Minister Donald Tusk's ruling KO, came ahead of Nawrocki, the candidate backed by the conservative-nationalist PiS, in the first round of the presidential election, 31.4% to 29.5%, a much narrower gap than opinion polls had suggested. The following is a summary of the most recent poll results (figures in %): Date Poll by 30.05 47.4 46.3 Opinia24 29.05 48.0 47.0 Ipsos 29.05 47.7 46.0 IBRiS 28.05 47.4 45.0 United Surveys 28.05 47.5 45.9 Opinia24 27.05 45.7 44.9 IBRiS 26.05 47.0 46.0 Opinia24 26.05 45.7 43.6 Pollster 26.05 45.7 44.9 IBRiS 23.05 47.0 47.0 Ipsos 22.05 45.0 47.0 Opinia24
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Cerberus Boosts Polish Bank Presence by Buying Citi's Retail Operations
Cerberus Capital Management LP 's Polish unit agreed to acquire the consumer business of Citigroup 's Bank Handlowy SA, increasing its footprint in the nation's banking industry. Cerberus's VeloBank SA will pay as much as 532 million zloty ($142 million) for Handlowy's retail operations with 8.9 billion zloty of assets in the deal expected for completion in mid-2026, both lenders said in statements. The disposal, sought since 2021, will help Handlowy to focus solely on corporate and investment banking.
