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 think-tank, the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), reported, based on data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), that in Q1 2023 Poland had a positive trade balance of EUR 2.9 billion. Last year, in Q1 ended there was a deficit of EUR 4.7 billion. PIE’s experts said that exports grew by less than 2 percent in volume last year, so the positive balance is mainly due to increased prices.
Wyborcza.pl - According to Gazeta Wyborcza, 22 local governments with so-called LGBT-free zones’ resolutions are blocking EU funds for a total of 129 local governments. The European Commission declared that it will not provide EU funds to municipalities discriminating sexual minorities. Recently, this has been confirmed by a French MEP, Pierre Karleskind. "No EU funds means no money for schools, libraries, parks, NGOs and companies," said Jakub Gawron, LGBT activists.
rp.pl - Over 1,100 minors may have been sexually abused during the communist era by around 300 Polish catholic clergy, Rzeczpospolita wrote. The newspaper’s journalists did a thorough review of archives in the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) and national Archive of New Files. The examined archives show that perpetrators of the abuse did not face consequences according to a church and state law. "Finding out the truth about the scale of sexual crimes in the Catholic Church in Poland must above all be focused on victims," said Marta Titaniec, president of the St. Joseph Foundation, which, on behalf of the Polish Episcopal Conference (KEP), is involved in helping the victims.
TVN24.pl - On Wednesday, Krakow (southern Poland) local government decided to ban the sale of alcohol during night hours - from midnight to 5:30 am. The new regulations are obligatory for all stores in the city while pubs and restaurants will be allowed to sell alcohol. Similar regulations have already been introduced by other Polish major cities, such as Katowice (southern Poland), Poznan (western Poland) and Wroclaw (southwestern Poland).
