Poland

In this year’s Nations in Transit by the Freedom House, Poland loses the status of a consolidated democracy. Other CEE countries also decline with their democracy score.

Today is Wednesday, May 6, three days before the planned presidential election in Poland and it is still not known if and when they will be held.

The increasingly autocratic tendencies observed in Poland and Hungary during the COVID-19 crisis have alarmed the EU. With street protests currently banned, human rights activists fear that the pandemic will be used by national conservative governments to consolidate their power and undermine democracy and human rights.

The conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government has conducted a calculated attack on the rule of law in Poland since it came into power in 2015, securing an overall majority in the Sejm, the lower house of the Parliament.

The human rights of women and children in Poland are at risk. The government is exploiting the fact that due to social distancing restrictions women are unable to protest against a barbaric legislation which was passed in its first reading in Sejm

Krzysztof Penderecki died in Cracow at the age of 86 years after a “long and serious illness.” The statement issued by the Ludwig van Beethoven Association called Penderecki a “great Pole, an outstanding creator, and a humanist” who was one of the world’s best-appreciated Polish composers.

The majority of people around the world complain about taxes they have to pay. However, in the case of Poland, it is not only the size of the tax burden that poses a problem, but also complicated and unclear rules in place.

One of the most important problems of today\'s liberals and libertarians is how to translate the idea of liberty into a possible realization that would bring at least a bit of freedom. Nowadays, in a world of sophisticated systems of taxation and welfare states, it is very easy to make a mistake.

The 2019 European Parliament election campaign was quite exceptional. First of all, because of the extraordinary political circumstances surrounding it. But also due to the election results and the themes of the campaign that determined a landslide victory of one of the parties. So, what happened in Poland?

PiS’s politics has left Poland looking down the barrel of a health and economic crisis that can result in widespread discontent. Instead of focusing on protecting its citizens, the party is further supplying the country with an additional constitutional crisis.