FOR Communications

Is the Disciplinary Chamber an independent court since it was fully formed by the new National Council of the Judiciary, mostly elected by politicians? Such a question from the Supreme Court came before the EU Court of Justice at its hearing in Luxembourg on Tuesday. The procedural nature of the case and the arguments raised during the hearing, as well as the expected decision of the Constitutional Tribunal seem to suggest that the final decision may (at least partially) contribute to limiting the influence of politicians on the Polish justice system.

Almost all of yesterday's interview with Mateusz Morawiecki for the Rzeczpospolita daily, entitled "We Want to give Poles  Peace of Mind and a Prosperous Life" was based on statements that insult the intelligence of the average citizen and thoughts on economic policy, which are in vivid contrast to empirical research. This means that either Morawiecki doesn't know what he's talking about or he knows, but in spite of this he decides to speak untruths, which he encapsulates with magical concepts - spells.

On Thursday, February 21, the Sejm adopted an amendment to the Act on the Principles of State Property Management. It provides for the establishment of a Capital Investment Fund - a special purpose fund through which the Prime Minister will be able to finance the purchase or acquisition by the state of shares in companies. This will be another instrument in the nationalization arsenal of the Law and Justice party.

The possibility for citizens to enter the session of the Sejm and observe the session is an explicit result of the provisions of the Constitution; in May 2018, however, some people were refused access to the gallery, which allowed this decision to be verified by the administrative courts.

In its economic policy the Law and Justice party announced a repetition of its actions from 2007. At that time, at the peak of the world economic boom, the Law and Justice party government passed laws that came into force during the slowdown in 2008 and 2009, increasing the public finance sector deficit by 2% of GDP and forcing the PO-PSL government to look for savings. The current announcements were also communicated at the  peak of the world economic boom, but will only fully enter into force in the coming years, when economic growth will be slower according to the available forecasts and, as a consequence, the situation of public finances will be more difficult.

The Timbro Swedish think-tank presented the subsequent edition of the Authoritarian Populism Index. The aim of the index is, among others, to determine to what extent populist parties can pose a real threat to liberal democracy in the European Union and five other countries on our continent.

On 19 December of the previous year, the President of the Energy Regulatory Office opened an investigation into the dramatic increase in energy prices. The question remains to what extent this increase is due to the progressive monopolisation of the sector by state-owned companies.

In November 2018, the Sejm received a deputies' bill amending the act on limiting trade on Sundays and public holidays and some other day. Within a few days, the first reading was carried out, the draft was discussed by the Sejm Social and Family Policy Commission which introduced minor amendments.

At the end of November, the Polish Parliament adopted another, seventh amendment to the Act on the Supreme Court, which "reinstates" the judges of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court.

On the eve of World War I in 1913, at the end of the Second Polish Republic in 1938, and at the end of the Polish People's Republic in 1988, the standard of living in Poland was about 20% of that in the USA. Due to the development during the Third Republic, it stands at around 50% now.