Today’s news round-up in Poland

Start your day with a summary of today’s top stories from Poland’s leading news sites.

TVN24.pl – People with disabilities were prevented from attending a session of the social policy and welfare parliamentary committee despite the fact that it was discussing draft legislation on support for people with disabilities, and that they had official passes, the news channel TVN24 reported. The reason for their exclusion given by the head of the committee was that it had to work in peace and concentrate on the legislation at hand. Some of those barred from entering complained that they had been "cheated" and feared that the committee could introduce "any old rubbish" into the bill.

TVPInfo.pl – Poles vacationing in Poland this summer will be unable to use tourist vouchers to help them cover some of the cost of their vacation, Andrzej Gut-Mostowy, deputy sport and tourism minister said, according to state-owned broadcaster TVP Info. The vouchers were introduced during the pandemic in an effort to help the tourism sector, which was struggling owing to lockdown. The deputy minister said that the government might introduce other measures to stimulate the sector.

Wyborcza.pl – Government legislation that would establish a commission to examine and investigate Russian influence over public life may lead to a "constitutional coup", according to an article in the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. The paper writes that the commission could be given powers such as banning candidates from elections or prohibiting people from holding public office, and therefore could wield considerable power.

Rp.pl – The Polish auto market could take a hit owing to the introduction of Euro 7 emission standards that apply to cars, vans and lorries, the newspaper Rzeczpospolita wrote. According to research cited in the paper, complying to Euro 7 standards could add PLN 9,000 (EUR 2,005) to the cost of a new passenger car and PLN 54,000 (EUR 12,034) to a lorry. The paper also wrote that all the technical modifications that would have to be applied to a vehicle in order for it to meet the new standards could increase its fuel consumption, thus providing further pain to the owner's bank account.