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  • Law on pharmacy profession - another step towards closing the market

    Law on pharmacy profession - another step towards closing the market | 2020-12-21

    The provisions in the Act allow for the arbitrary closures of pharmacies by officials to the detriment of patients, pharmacists without pharmacies, and entrepreneurs. In addition, the Act grants the pharmacy manager quasi-ownership functions without imposing any accountability for their decisions. Under the provisions of the Act, it is the manager, not the owner, who will verify, for example, electricity suppliers.
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    • Rule of law in Poland 2020: The rule of law crisis in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic

      Rule of law in Poland 2020: The rule of law crisis in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic | 2020-12-16

      The COVID-19 pandemic has led to serious health and economic emergencies all over the world. Moreover, it has also affected democratic institutions and the rule of law. On the one hand, the pandemic has been exploited by local strongmen and authoritarians in many places to consolidate their power and justify human rights’ violations. On the other, it has been a test for the resilience of democracy, and there are even some hopes for an upcoming democratic recovery.

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      • In the international freedom and democracy indexes, Poland is falling in solidarity with Hungary

        In the international freedom and democracy indexes, Poland is falling in solidarity with Hungary | 2020-12-10

        There are cases of indicators worsening in other countries of the region as well, however, with the exception of Hungary, these changes are not as significant as in Poland.
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        • Aleksander Łaszek: Is Warsaw facing de facto Polexit?, Deutsche Welle

          Aleksander Łaszek: Is Warsaw facing de facto Polexit?, Deutsche Welle | 2020-12-08

          "Fortunately, at the moment no one is seriously thinking about Polexit in Poland and our membership has strong public support," Aleksander Laszek, chief economist at the Civil Development Forum, a think tank in Warsaw, told DW.

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          • Jobs for a chosen few: Regulations continue to block access to professions

            Jobs for a chosen few: Regulations continue to block access to professions | 2020-12-08

            At present in Poland there are still 360 regulated professions (with the EU median of 186). Among the EU countries there are more only in Hungary and the Czech Republic. Although access to some professions is easier after the deregulation carried out a few years ago, many of the planned changes were abandoned in the course of legislative work, so that the final form of facilitation in access to the professions turned out to be much less than announced.

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            • Marek Tatała: Poland needs more rule of law and fewer conflicts with Brussels, Emerging Europe

              Marek Tatała: Poland needs more rule of law and fewer conflicts with Brussels, Emerging Europe | 2020-11-30

              On October 26, the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticising the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s decision to ban over 95 per cent of legal abortions in Poland. Indeed, out of 1,110 pregnancy terminations in 2019, 1,074 were carried out on the grounds of severe and irreversible foetal defects. This option will now be closed in Poland, which has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the European Union. On the same day the resolution was adopted, the prime ministers of Poland and Hungary met in Budapest to confirm that both governments would veto the EU 2021-27 financial framework and Covid-19 recovery fund.

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              • Marek Tatała: The Polish government versus the rule of law, New Europe

                Marek Tatała: The Polish government versus the rule of law, New Europe | 2020-11-27

                On November 20, the ruling Law and Justice party adopted a resolution supporting the government’s announcement to veto to link EU funds to the respect of the rule of law. The vast majority of the opposition voted against this resolution. The opening words of this political manifesto reads that “the Parliament of the Republic of Poland notices and reminds that the Republic of Poland is a democratic and sovereign state ruled by law.” The governing party’s desire to tell the world that the rule of law is present in Poland recalls the words of Margaret Thatcher that “being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”

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              • The parliamentary resolution on the EU budget negotiations is full of misrepresentations

                The parliamentary resolution on the EU budget negotiations is full of misrepresentations | 2020-11-19

                On 19 November, the parliamentary majority (KP [Polish Coalition], PiS [Law and Justice], and Kukiz'15 deputies), in response to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's announcement expressed the day before, adopted a resolution "supporting the activities of the Council of Ministers in the budget negotiations of the European Union"

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              • FOR Communication 37/2020: Single Market and the rule of law more important for Poland’s development than the EU funds

                FOR Communication 37/2020: Single Market and the rule of law more important for Poland’s development than the EU funds | 2020-11-19

                Thanks to the European Union, Polish companies can operate not only on the domestic market, where 38 million Poles produce 1% of the world's GDP, but on the European market, where 528 million Europeans produce 22% of the world's GDP (for comparison, the United States produces 24% of the world's GDP, and China 16%). A larger market allows for a wider range of specialization, and thus leads to an increase in productivity, on which workers' wages and living standards directly depend. 

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