Johan Van Overtveldt, chair of the European parliament’s budgets committee, says newly agreed €50bn aid to Kyiv is will leave a shortfall
Farmers today continued demonstrating in different parts of Europe.
Here are the latest photos:
Continue reading...Andrzej Duda sparked row after saying he was unsure if Kyiv could regain control of Russian-occupied Crimea
Poland’s president has declared he has always been unwavering in his support for Ukraine after being criticised for saying he was unsure whether Kyiv would be able to regain control of Crimea.
Warsaw has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since Russia invaded the country in 2022 and has said Ukraine must regain control over all of its territory in order to deter Moscow from further aggression.
Continue reading...Images taken secretly some 80 years ago are being published for the first time to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day
A remarkable series of photographs of Jewish families being forced to leave their homes in Germany in the middle of the second world war has been published for the first time, following a chance discovery.
The images are a striking new testament to the sudden upheaval and terror of the Holocaust and were taken secretly by an amateur photographer. He is believed to have wanted to pass down the scenes he was witnessing, despite the risk to himself. They show groups of people gathering outside a restaurant near the railway station in the Silesian city of Breslau, now Wrocław in Poland. Jewish men, women and children of all ages were held here for a few days before deportation by train. Almost all are certain to have been killed just a few days later in a documented shooting in Lithuania. Others were killed at a later date in Poland.
Continue reading...A DNA test has helped Shalom Koray find relatives in the US after escaping the Holocaust in a rucksack at the age of two
In 1943, a two-year-old boy found wandering the streets of the Warsaw ghetto at the height of the Jewish uprising was smuggled out in a rucksack, probably by a police officer.
The identity of the child could not be known. There was no one to attest even to a first name. His early life would be spent hidden away in orphanages, still not safe from antisemitic persecution, and without any real understanding of what it was to have a parent.
Continue reading...France, Poland and Austria among nine countries where radical rightwing parties predicted to finish first
Populist “anti-European” parties are heading for big gains in June’s European elections that could shift the parliament’s balance sharply to the right and jeopardise key pillars of the EU’s agenda including climate action, polling suggests.
Polling in all 27 EU member states, combined with modelling of how national parties performed in past European parliament elections, shows radical right parties are on course to finish first in nine countries including Austria, France and Poland.
Continue reading...Arrest at president’s residence of Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, of Law and Justice party, had sparked bitter political row
Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, said he had pardoned two jailed politicians from the opposition populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which lost its majority in October elections, and called for their immediate release.
The former interior minister Mariusz Kamiński and his ex-deputy, Maciej Wąsik, were imprisoned this month after being detained in the presidential palace. Their arrests sparked large protests by PiS supporters and both began hunger strikes claiming to be “political prisoners”.
An earlier headline said the two pardoned men were former politicians. They are, in fact, current politicians and the headline has been corrected.
Continue reading...Andrzej Duda’s remarks escalate battle for rule of law with new government and come as politicians convicted of abuse of power begin hunger strike
Poland’s president has said he will not rest until two politicians from the opposition nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party – both on hunger strike – are freed from prison, in a further dramatic escalation in the new government’s battle to restore the rule of law.
“I will not rest in the fight for a fair and just Polish state,” the president, Andrzej Duda, who is closely aligned with PiS, declared on Wednesday. “I won’t be scared. I will act legally, in accordance with the constitution and the law – as before.”
Continue reading...Two men had taken refuge in Andrzej Duda’s presidential palace after dispute
Polish police have arrested two politicians convicted of abuse of power who had taken refuge for hours in the palace of President Andrzej Duda, in a dramatic escalation of a standoff between the new and previous governments.
Duda had welcomed the members of the former ruling party into the presidential palace as police went to their homes to arrest them. Polish media reported the men were arrested inside the palace. Warsaw police gave no details, saying only that the arrest was “in accordance with the court order.”
Continue reading...Culture minister announces withdrawal of art project announced in dying weeks of Law and Justice party administration
Poland’s new government has scrapped the submission conceived under the previous nationalist-populist administration for the country’s Venice Biennale pavilion and replaced it with an interactive show by a Ukrainian art collective, provoking complaints of “censorship” from the artist originally tasked with the Polish entry.
The culture minister, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz, who was appointed by centrist prime minister Donald Tusk on 13 December, announced the withdrawal of the project, Polish Exercises in the Tragedy of the World: Between Germany and Russia, on Friday. The project had been announced in the dying weeks of the Law and Justice party (PiS) government in what was perceived as an ideological parting shot.
Continue reading...An 18-hour Russian aerial barrage across Ukraine that killed 41 civilians has been followed up by further bombardment of Kharkiv on New Year’s Eve
Russia pounded the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with missiles and drones in the hours leading into New Year’s Eve, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow accused Kyiv of carrying out a deadly air assault just across the border on nearby Belgorod.
At least six missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s national police said on Sunday, injuring at least 22 people and hitting 12 apartment buildings, 13 residential houses and a kindergarten.
Continue reading...At least 30 civilians killed in Ukraine as Moscow mounts one of its biggest attacks since start of war
Russia has launched a huge wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, in one of the biggest attacks on the country since the start of the war.
Poland’s armed forces said an unknown airborne object, which they identified as a Russian missile, entered the country’s airspace from the direction of Ukraine for three minutes.
Continue reading...Ukraine says movement of lorries restored after suspension of protest, but truckers’ blockades of three other crossings continue
Polish farmers have ended their blockade of one of the border crossings between Ukraine and Poland and the movement of lorries has been fully restored, the Ukrainian border service has said.
“Truck traffic has been restored: Polish farmers have ended the blockade in front of the Medyka-Shehyni crossing,” the service said on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday.
Reuters and AFP contributed to this report.
Continue reading...Military production cannot remain on peacetime footing while war in Ukraine goes on, Radosław Sikorski says after visit to Kyiv
Poland’s new foreign minister has called on European countries to boost long-term plans for military production after returning from his first foreign visit, to neighbouring Ukraine.
“Wars are not decided by tactical engagements but by industrial capacities, and we are behind the curve,” said Radosław Sikorsk, in an interview in Warsaw, a few hours after returning from Kyiv on Saturday.
Continue reading...Adam Bodnar is determined to reverse damage to judicial system inflicted by defeated PiS, which led to clashes with EU
Poland’s new justice minister has vowed to “find any niche in the legal system” that will allow him to push through reforms, as he starts work to reverse the rule of law breaches carried out under the previous government.
Adam Bodnar, a law professor and former human rights ombudsman, was elected to Poland’s upper house of parliament in the October election and became justice minister last Wednesday, part of a new government led by prime minister Donald Tusk.
Continue reading...Move follows regular accusations of biased reporting and transmission of propaganda when PiS was in power
The new Polish government has gutted the top management of public television, making good on a campaign promise to reform a broadcaster that functioned as a mouthpiece of its rightwing populist predecessor, but also prompting criticism of their methods from some quarters.
The government led by prime minister, Donald Tusk, was sworn into office last Wednesday. It has promised to launch an ambitious programme to reverse the damage done to rule of law in the country during eight years of government by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Continue reading...Rabbi says antisemitic attack, hours after Donald Tusk vowed to reform Poland, galvanised support for Jewish community
A far-right Polish MP has extinguished candles on a menorah lit for Hanukah in Poland’s parliament, disrupting proceedings before a vote of confidence in the new government.
Grzegorz Braun, a fringe far-right MP, was shown on television spraying the menorah with a fire extinguisher. Haze filled the area. The parliament took a break in proceedings to deal with the incident and Braun was suspended for the rest of the day.
Continue reading...Incoming PM tells parliament he will ‘bring back billions of euros’ of EU funds, as MPs prepare to confirm his candidacy
Donald Tusk has presented his vision of a new, progressive Poland at the heart of the EU, before a vote in parliament that is set to confirm his candidacy for prime minister.
“Poland will regain its position as a leader in the European Union,” Tusk told the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, during a speech on Tuesday. He promised to “bring back billions of euros” of EU funds to Poland, which were frozen due to a dispute between Brussels and the outgoing Law and Justice (PiS) government over rule-of-law concerns.
Continue reading...Incident came hours after new PM Donald Tusk vowed to reform Poland. This live blog is now closed
As Poland moves to form a new government, the European court of human rights issued a new judgment today that the lack of any form of legal recognition and protection for same-sex couples in Poland breaches the European convention on human rights.
The court considered that the Polish state had failed to comply with its duty to ensure that the applicants had a specific legal framework providing for the recognition and protection of their samesex unions.
That failure had resulted in the applicants’ inability to regulate fundamental aspects of their lives and amounted to a breach of their right to respect for their private and family life.
I protest against the xenophobia introduced by the authorities into public debate.
I protest against the hostile attitude of the authorities towards immigrants.
I protest against the incapacitation of public television.
We will have different views on many issues, but we want to be a community and the work of the future government will focus on this.
We are so different, we are attached to different traditions. This is our wealth. The community is built by the rule of law and the constitution, and we should not argue about this just to be able to safely argue about other topics.
Continue reading...Former European Council leader will take power after incumbent Polish premier, Mateusz Morawiecki, lost confidence vote
Donald Tusk has pledged to “chase away the darkness … chase away the evil” of eight divisive years of national-conservative rule, after Poland’s parliament voted to back his nomination as the country’s new prime minister.
“I want to thank Polish women and men,” the former European council president said after Monday’s vote. “Thank you, Poland. This is a wonderful day, not for me, but for all those who have deeply believed over these years that things will get even better.”
Continue reading...Vote set to end eight years of rule by nationalist PiS as Tusk vows to mend ties with EU. This live blog is closed
In a policy speech ahead of a confidence vote he is set to lose, the outgoing Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said his government had shown it could set new trends in European politics and underscored his opposition to empowering the EU.
Europe of homelands, not a Europe without homelands. We do not agree to any further deprivation of competences from states. If the union is to survive, it must abandon attempts to greedily seize new competences.
We proved that the liberal economic model was not only unfair, but above all ineffective and irrational. We have introduced a completely new model, a new – one might say – socio-economic system. We took first steps towards a solidarity state.
We have shown that we are not doomed to constant imitation, but that we can be the source of new trends in European politics.
Continue reading...