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 news broadcaster TVPInfo carried a story on the start of a trial of eight people accused of producing an illegal drug on an "industrial scale". The eight were arrested in June after police raided one of the largest laboratories ever found in Poland used for the production of synthetic drugs. The laboratory, which was in a warehouse hall, was producing clephedrone, a stimulant that produces a feeling of euphoria. The total value of the clephedrone seized was worth an estimated PLN 30 million (EUR 6.9 mln).

Wyborcza.pl – The newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza wrote that the Prime Minister’s Office has spent around PLN 600,000 (EUR 125,000) on online advertising in the past three months alone as the general election campaign warms up. According to the newspaper, many of the advertisements highlight the "benefits" of the government’s policies, while others appear with the slogan "Tusk means poverty" in reference to the leader of the main opposition party.

TVN24.pl- Police across the country will carry out an increased number of spot-checks on Friday in an effort to improve the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, the private news network TVN24 reported. Police will focus on areas such as pedestrian crossings to make sure drivers follow road rules. "Many accidents are caused by the irresponsible and careless behaviour of drivers towards unprotected road users," a police officer told TVN24.

Rp.pl – The government is spending billions of zloty on projects earmarked to receive EU funding from a post-pandemic recovery fund despite Poland getting no money from the EU, the newspaper Rzeczpospolita wrote on Friday. The projects have been started using pre-financing mechanisms with the money being taken from the Polish Development Fund. This is taking place on the assumption that Poland will secure the funding although this is not certain at the moment. Poland has been locked out of the EU fund owing to a rule-of-law dispute with Brussels.