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FOR Communications

  • FOR Communication 15/2023: Pathology of legislation and disappearing pharmacies. On the next tightening of the Pharmaceutical Law

    FOR Communication 15/2023: Pathology of legislation and disappearing pharmacies. On the next tightening of the Pharmaceutical Law | 2023-07-19

    The amendment to the Act on export insurance, as a government bill, should have included an assess-ment of regulation’s impact and undergone public consultations, which cannot be said of the amend-ments introduced by the Sejm, which should preferably be closely related to the original bill. In this case, we are dealing with far-reaching legal changes in an entirely different area than the one ad-dressed in the amendment. This form of legislation, not used for the first time by the ruling party’s politicians, is unacceptable in a developed democracy.

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  • FOR Communication 14/2023: National Political Bank - guarding the party rather than the currency

    FOR Communication 14/2023: National Political Bank - guarding the party rather than the currency | 2023-07-06

    According to the constitution, the National Bank of Poland is responsible for the value of the Polish currency, and according to the law, its primary objective is to maintain a stable price level. However, during Adam Glapiński's presidency (since June 2016), the accumulated inflation until May 2023 reached 47.6%, which means an average increase of the price level of about 5.7% per annum, while the inflation target is 2.5% with a deviation range of ±1 percentage point. In February this year, inflation reached 18.4% y/y, marking the highest rate in over 26 years.

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  • Marcin Zieliński appointed as FOR president

    Marcin Zieliński appointed as FOR president | 2023-06-29

    Since 28th of June, the work of the Forum of Civil Development Foundation (FOR) is led by Marcin Zieliński, current board member and chief economist. He replaced the former president, prof. Leszek Balcerowicz.

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  • FOR Communication 13/2023: The Bill from the state for 2022

    FOR Communication 13/2023: The Bill from the state for 2022 | 2023-06-20

    In 2022, public expenditure per capita amounted to almost 36,000 PLN, and per one working person - 79,381 PLN. All public spending is financed either by taxes we pay, or by government-issued debt (which means higher taxes in the future). Many people, demanding the implementation of further social programs by the state, do not realize that it is associated with higher taxation of the people (now or in the future). As Margaret Thatcher observed: “If the state wishes to spend more, it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. There is no such thing as public money, only taxpayers' money.

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  • FOR Communication 12/2023: Where does the money for 800 plus come from?

    FOR Communication 12/2023: Where does the money for "800 plus" come from? | 2023-05-17

    During the last weekend program convention, Jarosław Kaczyński presented PiS's new election promises. The increase of the children benefits from 500 PLN to 800 PLN per month from January 2024 came to the fore. In addition, the promises included free (that is financed by the taxpayer) medicines for children under 18 and senior citizens, and the abolition of highway tolls. During the festival of promises, however, PiS lacked the most important thing - sources of funding.

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  • FOR Communication 11/2023: Investigating alleged Russian influence is a cover up for pre-election show on state television

    FOR Communication 11/2023: Investigating alleged Russian influence is a cover up for pre-election show on state television | 2023-05-08

    By the votes of the ruling coalition, the Sejm passed the Act on the establishment of the State Commission for the Study of Russian Influence on the Internal Security of the Republic of Poland in years 2007–2022. Any person, including journalists and members of NGOs, can be subpoenaed, and punished without a court ruling for actions that were not criminal offenses under the law at the time they were committed - and therefore not a crime. This constitutes a violation of the principle of non-retroactivity of the law, expressed in Art. 42 sec. 1 of the Constitution.

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  • FOR Communication 10/2023: IMF: The biggest challenge for Poland is the fight against inflation

    FOR Communication 10/2023: IMF: The biggest challenge for Poland is the fight against inflation | 2023-04-03

    The International Monetary Fund’s mission carried out an assessment in Warsaw on 14-24 March under art. IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. The mission pointed to the most important problems of the Polish economy and presented recommendations related to them.

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  • FOR Communication 9/2023: Polish public debt continues to grow

    FOR Communication 9/2023: Polish public debt continues to grow | 2023-03-21

    According to the projection of the European Commission, in 2023 and 2024 Poland will pay the highest interest on public debt among all EU Member States - 5.9% and 5.8%, respectively.

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  • FOR Communication 8/2023: First low inflation, then cheap loans

    FOR Communication 8/2023: First low inflation, then cheap loans | 2023-03-13

    The ongoing election campaign has become an opportunity for political parties to present populist solutions to problems that are not always real. One theme are the seemingly high mortgage rates. In reality, however, rates are much lower than the current and projected increase in prices and wages, which means that the burden on debtors would decrease even if they would not pay their instalments and the interest would increase their debt.

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  • FOR Communication 7/2023: The European Commission sues the politicized Constitutional Tribunal to the CJEU. Will this affect National Recovery Plan?

    FOR Communication 7/2023: The European Commission sues the politicized Constitutional Tribunal to the CJEU. Will this affect National Recovery Plan? | 2023-03-02

    After the Commission's complaints to the Court of Justice regarding judges of common courts and the Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Chamber or the so-called Muzzle Act, this time the institution used strongest measure in its arsenal. The complaint that was related to the politicization of the Constitutional Court and its undermining of the foundations of EU law was filed to the court in Luxembourg. Some commentators, as in the case of previous complaints, are of the opinion that the EU does not have the competence to take action regarding Polish courts. This is a myth that should be scattered in the context of the CT case. Finally, one should consider the impact of this complaint on the possible payment of funds to Poland from the Recovery Fund.

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