Today’s news round up in Poland
Start your day with a summary of today’s top stories from Poland’s leading news sites.
TVPInfo.pl – The state-owned TV news channel quoted German daily Die Welt, according to which, Poland is rapidly increasing its defense purchases. "Warsaw has achieved a success because of a different attitude than Berlin toward purchases," wrote Die Welt. In December, Poland received the first consignment of 10 South Korean K2 tanks and 24 K9 self-propelled howitzers, which were shipped to the Polish north-eastern region of Warmia and Mazury. "It is our priority to strengthen the eastern part of our country," Mariusz Blaszczak, the minister of defence, said then.
rp.pl – The daily carried a story on controversies around term-end of the Constitutional Tribunal (TK) president, Julia Przylebska. According to some lawyers and constitutional law experts, her term should have ended on December 20, six years after she was nominated by the president as the TK president. A year ago, lawyers from the TK's office said that her term of office ends when her term as a judge in the Constitutional Tribunal ends, which is December 2024. So far, Przylebska has not commented but on Tuesday evening Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, said that he has no doubts that Przylebska's term ends in 2024.
RMF24.pl – The biggest private radio broadcaster wrote that Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, is convinced that after next year's general elections, PiS will be governing. "We have to be determined, and paradoxically the biggest challenge is that some of our supporters do not believe we can win," Kaczynski told the weekly Gazeta Polska. According to Kaczynski, PiS and all smaller parties that are part of the United Right (ZP) ruling coalition, including Solidary Poland, have to maintain unity to win the elections. Asked about negotiations with the EU concerning the rule-of-law conditions Poland has to fulfill to access post-pandemic funds, Kaczynski said that Poland needs to be active in the EU to keep its image on international markets. "This is good for us, even if we think that the EU's decisions are not based on merits," said Kaczynski and added that Zbigniew Ziobro, minister of justice and leader of Solidary Poland, disregards this aspect.
Wyborcza.pl – The biggest private Polish daily wrote that Forum Gdansk, a shopping centre in Gdansk, northern Poland, was sold for EUR 250 million. It was one of the biggest single-asset shopping center transactions by value in Europe and the largest in the CEE region in 2022. The centre was acquired by Nepi Rockcastle. The seller was Multi Veste 339, an entity owned by Blackstone (the largest private equity investor in the world). Rudiger Dany, the CEO of Nepi Rockcastle said that "Forum Gdansk, with its striking architecture and dominant position in the centre of the city, is the epitome of this type of CEE shopping centre trophy asset for all the best reasons."
