Barbara Erling

Polish truckers have extended their blockade along the border with Ukraine to protest against competition from Ukrainian drivers, some of whom have been stuck for 17 days in freezing temperatures, in a further blow to Kyiv’s trade and war efforts against Russia. Backed by local Polish farmers and their tractors, lorry drivers on Thursday blocked the key border crossing at Medyka, expanding a protest that started at three other crossings on November 6. Two Ukrainian truckers waiting to cross ha…

Poland’s public television news channel halted broadcasting on Wednesday as the country’s new pro-EU administration asserted control over state media, which it said had become a mouthpiece of the rightwing former government. The abrupt shutdown of TVP Info’s 24-hour news programming, in the face of protests by the rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party, came as Poland’s culture ministry said the heads of the state television, radio and news agency had been dismissed by the incoming government of…

Katarzyna Kurkowska, 30, was one of the hundreds of people packed into a Warsaw cinema last month to watch a live feed of Poland’s latest blockbuster: the legislative endorsement of Donald Tusk’s return to premiership. Many of her fellow movie-goers were also too young to vote in 2007, when Tusk first came to power. But they cheered for his promise of “historic change” and pledge to reinstall liberal values, after eight years of Law and Justice (PiS) party rule that included assaults on abortio…

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has escalated a constitutional row with the pro-EU government led by Donald Tusk over two convicted right-wing lawmakers he had pardoned. The two MPs from the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party had sought refuge in the presidential palace on Tuesday but were detained there by police, sparking a small street protest. Duda said on Wednesday he was “personally deeply shocked” at the arrest of the two lawmakers who should benefit from the presidential pardon h…

Poland’s justice minister has presented a reform of the body that appoints judges, a step needed for Brussels to release the country’s frozen EU funds, but which still requires presidential approval. Adam Bodnar told a news conference on Friday that overhauling the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) was essential to restore the impartiality of courts, one of the main pledges made by the new coalition government led by Donald Tusk. The European Commission also made this reform a prerequisit…

Polish truckers have agreed to suspend a border blockade with Ukraine that was hurting Kyiv’s trade and war efforts and casting a shadow over Donald Tusk’s premiership. Poland’s infrastructure minister Dariusz Klimczak on Tuesday said he had struck a deal with the hauliers to suspend their protest against cheap competition from Ukrainian drivers. The truckers will stop their blockade on Wednesday while they hold further negotiations with the ministry in order to reach a final deal by March 1.…

Poland’s opposition leader has encouraged the use of “various methods” by supporters of his rightwing party to challenge the pro-EU government of Donald Tusk, raising concerns that political brinkmanship in Warsaw could turn violent. Jarosław Kaczyński, the powerful head of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, questioned the legitimacy of the new Tusk government on Thursday, calling for a “transition period” and fresh elections. “We have an emergency situation. The constitution is pract…

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has asked the country’s constitutional court to review the national budget for 2024, despite warnings from Prime Minister Donald Tusk that such an “irrational” step could lead to snap elections. The president on Wednesday broadened his dispute with Tusk by questioning the validity of the budget process because two convicted lawmakers who had been stripped of their office were unable to vote when Tusk’s majority adopted it earlier this month. Tusk on Tuesday warn…

Europe’s development bank has pumped nearly $1bn into chicken farms and other large Ukrainian food businesses since Russia’s full-scale invasion, funding cheap exports that have recently helped swell farmer protests across the EU. Since 2022, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has lent $890mn to Ukraine’s producers of eggs, poultry and sugar, which will soon face quotas to protect EU jobs, the bank told the Financial Times. In Poland, the largest EU chicken producer, farmers…

Of all the changes in Poland since Prime Minister Donald Tusk came to power last December, few are as obvious for ordinary Poles as how news is presented on their favourite channels. Instead of polarising rants claiming Tusk is a German stooge, state broadcaster TVP now airs conventional news bulletins about domestic and international events. “Some say the news on TVP is now boring, but I would rather call it calm,” said teacher Aneta Ćwieluch. “I prefer peace than this hate towards everyone t…