FOR

After 25 years, negotiations have concluded on a trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, a bloc of South American countries. It aims to significantly liberalize trade between the two regions by eliminating tariffs on 91% of goods, reducing the remaining ones, and removing non-tariff barriers.

The Sunday shopping ban (initially on selected Sundays, later on almost all) has been in force in Poland since 2018. The bill proposed by the Third Way intends to restore trade on the first and third Sundays of each month, in line with the Coalition’s parliamentary campaign promises. Even restoring trade every other Sunday should be regarded as a step in the right direction.

The Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, has once again declared that her ministry is working on a list of professions to be protected from the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), along with regulations that would limit or even ban the use of AI in certain jobs. This move could turn Poland into an economic backwater and harm Polish citizens, including those working in the professions in question.

On August 9, Andrzej Duda signed the bill introducing the widow\'s pension. The widow\'s pension is intended to be a new way of combining a retirement pension and a survivor\'s pension. Previously, a widowed retiree could receive their own pension or 85% of their deceased spouse’s pension (the survivor\'s pension). The widow\'s pension allows beneficiaries to receive their own pension or survivor\'s pension along with an additional 15% of the other benefit.

Poland will mark twenty years as a member of the European Union in 2024. In recent years, eurosceptic sentiments undermining the benefits of European integration have gained ground in Poland and Europe. However, the facts contradict these claims: membership in the European Union benefits member states. This is also true for Poland, which will continue to benefit from remaining in the Community, even if it eventually becomes a net contributor.

In public debate one can frequently find support for significant state ownership in the economy, citing the need to protect strategic national interests, including public safety and order. Politicians often argue that privatizing companies with State Treasury involvement would lead to their acquisition by entities hostile to Polish interests.

On June 4 and 18, 1989, partially free elections for the Sejm and fully free elections for the reconstituted Senate were held in Poland. As a result of these elections, a democratic political system was established, and decisive economic reforms were initiated between 1989 and 1990, which included stabilization and free-market changes. Poland was the first socialist country to begin departing from the system imposed by force, which was flawed.

One of the most frequently repeated electoral promises of the Civic Coalition and the Third Way in the parliamentary elections was the \"depoliticization of state-owned enterprises.\" This pledge was reflected in point 13 of the coalition agreement from November 10, 2023, which states, \"One of the coalition\'s priorities will be the depoliticization of state-owned companies by introducing clear recruitment criteria for managerial positions.\"[1]

In recent years, the quality of law-making in Poland has significantly deteriorated. Practices such as ignoring procedures, bypassing public consultations, using the deputies’ initiative route for government projects, and last-minute insertions in the final stage of the legislative process have been a constant element of the political landscape.

In the face of the energy crisis, politicians\' neglect of the development and modernization of the Polish energy sector is becoming increasingly visible. Freezing electricity prices is a costly and short-term solution, resulting from neglect in this area. The Polish energy mix, overly dependent on coal, requires decisive modernization actions, which, however, because of current policies, are systematically delayed.