Findings by Polish investigators at odds with Russian report on Smolensk crash

New results of the black box inquiry by experts from the southern city of Krakow were presented by Poland’s military prosecution on 16 January. Andrzej Seremet, Poland’s prosecutor general, and Krzysztof Parulski, chief military prosecutor, presented the findings, which appeared to contradict the outcomer of the earlier Russian investigation report on the plane crash near Smolensk, Russia that killed Polish President Lech Kaczyński and 95 others in 2010.

The Moscow-based committee’s report stated that Poland’s air force commander General Andrzej Blasik could be heard in the cockpit of the presidential Tupolev Tu-154 and pressured pilots to make the fatal landing in poor visibility. The Russian investigators also said the general had a blood-alcohol level of 0.06%.

The Polish experts’ study showed that Blasik’s voice could not be identified in cockpit recordings immediately before the crash. Ireneusz Szelag, spokesman of Poland's Military District Prosecutor's Office, said that close examination of the black box recordings was unable to yield any evidence that Blasik was in the cockpit. He said that a number of voices had been found on the recording, but not all had been identified.

A week earlier, conspiracy theories around the Smolensk disaster had again been emphasised when military prosecutor Mikolaj Przybyl attempted suicide, shooting himself in the head during a break in a press conference in which he had been defending Krzysztof Parulski against attacks by right-wing media. The story turned on “information confidentially passed by the Russian Federation prosecutors to Polish prosecutors” on the investigation in Russia of the Smolensk plane crash of April 2010. Leaks of this to the media had fatally compromised Polish-Russian co-operation and led to delays in the investigation.

In his statement before shooting himself Mikolaj Przybyl alluded to the activities of American special services in Poland and right-wing attempts to disrupt Polish-Russian relations. The situation had been further muddied when the leader of the PiS party (Law and Justice) Jaroslaw Kaczyński used conspiracy theories around his brother’s death as the core of his failed electoral campaign to succeed his brother in the presidency.

Poland’s first nuclear plant to be built on the Baltic

Tomasz Zadroga, CEO of the power utility PGE, announced on 28 November that PGE had selected Zarnowiec, Gaski, and Choczewo, all located in northern Poland on the Baltic, as potential locations for its planned first nuclear power plant. The process of choosing the final location would be decided in 2013, after all the studies had been conducted.

PGE was selected by the Polish government as the investor for the first Polish nuclear plants. Government plans assume PGE will build two plants with total generation capacity of 6,000 MW. PGE may seek partners for its nuclear power plant project or do the whole project on its own, but either way plans to retain at least 51% share, Zadroga said.

European Commission refers Poland to EU Court of Justice

Poland has been taken to the European Court of Justice for failure to fully implement the EU directive on capital requirements and pay policy in financial institutions, and could face a penalty of €37,000 a day if it delays further, the European Commission announced on 25 November. The fine would be enforceable from the day of a court ruling on the issue until the law is fully finalised.

Although Poland has already informed the European Commission of taking "some steps in order to implement the directive," but "has yet to transpose all regulations regarding extension of minimum capital requirements and inform the European Commission about executive measures taken by the financial regulator with regard to pay policy." The final deadline for the implementation of that directive had expired on 1 January 2011.

Four biggest mobile operators fined 113 million zloty

Poland's four biggest mobile operators were fined a total of 113 million zloty (about £24.2 million) by anti-trust office UOKiK for a cartel that resulted in blocking technological development and affected consumers.

UOKiK officials said on 24 November that the office had fined the operators for the cartel agreement directed against IT firm Info-TV-FM, which had won a tender for frequencies enabling it to provide mobile TV services. The four operators in consortium had also participated in the tender, but lost.
The cartel agreement had lasted for two and half years and decisions on their common actions were made among high management staff.

Two of the mobile operators have since denied any wrongdoing and declared they would appeal against the decision.

New government cabinet announced

On 17 November, after a meeting with President Bronislaw Komorowski, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the membership of his new government. He had replaced 10 ministers. Tusk’s own PO part (Civic Platform) will continue to govern in coalition with the PSL (Polish People’s Party). PSL leader Waldemar Pawlak will continue as deputy prime minister and economy minister. Jacek Rostowski and Radoslaw Sikorski will stay on as finance minister and foreign minister respectively. Barbara Kudrycka will still be in charge of the science and higher education ministry, while Elzbieta Bienkowska remains regional development minister.

“This government is potentially strong due to voter support and is based on the same PO-PSL coalition,” Tusk said as he introduced his new government composed of 19 ministers, in addition to himself as prime minister. “The support which the two parties received on election day and which offered us a chance—for the first time in these two decades of democracy—to continue in power, puts an enormous obligation on us. The decision of the voters means they agree for the main directions of the government’s work to continue. But I am aware that citizens, institutions and businesses expect acceleration in some areas.”

Michal Boni, who was head of a team of advisers to the prime minister and author of several large reports on challenges facing Poland, will now head a newly established ministry of “administration and digitisation.”

Under the PO-PSL coalition agreement, the PSL will still be in charge of the ministry of labour and social policy. The post of minister went to Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who at 30 is the youngest member of the government.

Polskie Radio Londyn is available on DAB digital radio, in the London area.

back to News index

Ceauşescu luxuries being put up for auction

On 26 January a Bucharest auction house sold memorabilia and gifts that belonged to the late communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, executed with his wife Elena in the revolution of 1989. The sale by Artmark was called "Golden Age", referring to the heroic portrayal of Ceauşescu by the Communist Party.

The auction included a leopard skin, silver doves and a bronze yak. The skin fetched €3,750 and the yak, given by Chinese communist leader Mao Tse-tung, €12,000. Two silver enamelled doves were a gift from the late Shah of Iran.  Communist-era posters, medals, photos and flags, some dating back up to 70 years, also went under the hammer. It was the first public auction of Ceauşescu possessions in a decade.

Ceauşescu and his wife surrounded themselves with luxuries while most Romanians struggled with poverty, power cuts and suffered constant surveillance by secret police.

Romanian government website

back to News index

Serbian police recover two Picasso paintings

Two paintings by Pablo Picasso stolen from a Swiss exhibition in 2008 have been found in Belgrade, Serbia. Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said on 26 October that the Serbian service against organised crime SBPOK had recovered two stolen Pablo Picasso paintings.

The oil paintings - Head of Horse and Glass and Pitcher - both belong to the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, Germany. They had been loaned to an exhibition in the Swiss town of Pfaeffikon, near Zurich, at the time of their theft.

It is not clear how the pictures were found nor whether any possible suspects had been identified. Police were now trying to ascertain who brought the paintings into Serbia.

Switzerland has submitted a request for the paintings to be returned. They are believed to be worth $4.3 million (£2.7 million).

Parliament adopts 2011 budget

On 18 October the Serbian parliament passed the 2011 budget review, which has been harmonised with the IMF and allows for a budget deficit of 142.7 billion dinars. The draft tabled by the government was supported by all majority parties, including the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), which had earlier objected to some provisions related to the payment of budget funds to Vojvodina.

The government adopted a SVM amendment which specifies that the money for capital spending in Vojvodina will be transferred to the provincial budget in three equal instalments during November and December.

The new budget expects revenue of 707.34 billion dinars (£6.2 billion), while planned spending totals 850.91 billion dinars (£7.48 billion).

Spending on pensions, salaries and social security will go up as of October. An additional 300 million dinars (£2.64 million) has been set aside for subsidised housing loans. The greater part of savings would be in capital spending, stemming from a better planned payment dynamic and reduced spending on interests, it was said.

The adoption of the revised budget for this year was a prerequisite for the country to sign a new arrangement with the IMF.

Serbia's EU Integration Office

News about Kosovo

back to News index

top of right column

Cabinet appeals directly to doctors to withdraw their resignations

On 1 December around 2,000 hospital doctors may not show up for work. Their union has organised mass resignations to take effect that day. Neither the government nor the Medical Trade Unions Association (LOZ) have been able to resolve the entangled situation in which they have ended up after many unsuccessful rounds of talks.

Prime Minister Iveta Radičová announced on 24 November after her meeting with LOZ representatives that she was no longer willing to negotiate with the unions. Instead, she wanted the cabinet to appeal directly to the doctors. “I beg the doctors to reconsider their decision,” Radicová said. The cabinet was convened for an extraordinary session on 26 November to discuss the eventuality that a state of emergency could be declared to solve the crisis, as President Ivan Gašparovič had suggested earlier. “Neither the cabinet nor the President can afford to wait until someone dies just because they weren’t treated appropriately,” Gašparovič said on 26 November, suggesting that unless the situation is resolved, a state of emergency should be declared earlier than 1 December.

Salaries still appeared to be the main obstacle to reaching an agreement. The LOZ originally required, in a memorandum which they proposed on 23 November, to have their salaries increased from 1 January 2012 to 1.35 – 2.7 times the average salary in the country, depending on the experience and level of expertise of each doctor, and a further increase to 1.5 – 3.0 times the average salary from April 2012. The cabinet, however, proposed in its version of the memorandum that the first increase should be to.

Radičová and Health Minister Ivan Uhliarik have stressed repeatedly that 1.05 – 1.6 times the average salary and a second increase to 1.5 – 3.0 times the average salary was the highest increase they could afford to offer the doctors, given financial constraints and the mandate of the interim cabinet.

From noon on 30 November, each state-run hospital will run a non-stop hotline for patients to request information about whether their doctor is working and about the schedule of planned surgeries and examinations.

More powers for the EU would require referendum

Giving up certain national powers in the economic and monetary fields in favour of the EU is a matter which Slovak citizens would have to decide in a referendum, said Prime Minister Iveta Radičová at a conference entitled 'The EU after the Lisbon Treaty and during a crisis' held in Bratislava on 25 November.

The EU changes were intended to stave off another eurozone debt crisis by ensuring compliance with budgetary regulations and improving administration of the eurozone.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who view changes to the Lisbon Treaty as essential to solving the eurozone debt crisis, are set to announce the proposed alterations within the next few days.

According to Radičová, Slovakia will back EU proposals leading to the strengthening of budgetary discipline as well as the introduction of sanctions for countries that attempt to dodge regulations.

Slovak diplomat named UN special envoy for Afghanistan

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 23 November named Slovak diplomat Ján Kubiš his next special envoy for Afghanistan and the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

The former Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister will replace Staffan de Mistura of Sweden who has been at the helm of UNAMA since 2010.

Kubiš presently heads the UN Economic Commission for Europe and served in many major posts in the past such as OSCE secretary general. He will take up his new post in January 2012.

New strategy for integration of Roma

The new action plan for integrating Roma into Slovak society should be focused on education, labour, health care, housing and, especially, on the specific concerns of Roma people, according to a new strategy which is being prepared by the Office of the Government Proxy for Roma Communities, reported on 23 November.

“The strategy should serve as the [basis] for following the programme period for the years 2014 to 2020 to define the structural funds of the EU for projects focused on the integration of Roma,” said Iveta Duchoňová from the Office of the Government Proxy, explaining that the first meeting of the working group preparing the national strategy, involving representatives of municipalities and non-governmental organisations, had taken place in October.

The activities of the national representatives, prepared in accordance with the results of the EU Roma platform, should allow Roma to get quality education at all levels, including at university, and should help students to complete their compulsory education successfully, without segregation. In the area of employment, the Office of the Government Proxy wants to support non-discriminatory access to the labour market, as well as the activities of people wanting to set up their own business.

Unemployment rate fell slightly in October to 13.29%

The unemployment rate in Slovakia fell slightly in October to 13.29%, according to Ivan Juráš, the head of the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (ÚPSVaR) on 21 November. "There's been a certain amount of stabilisation. The growth in unemployment has now stopped and we've even registered a slight drop of 0.08% [month-on-month]," Juráš said.

The number of unemployed registered at job centres reached 390,125 in October, 2,007 less than September. If the unemployment had been calculated based on the overall number of jobless persons (including people who are not immediately available for work such as those on sick-leave or living abroad), it would have been 14.62%. Juráš said various new companies and production expansions contributed to the positive trend.

Anger over cancellation of citizenship

A committee of the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest concluded on 21 November that Slovakia disregarded European values and norms when it stripped a Komarno resident of his citizenship, Olivér Boldoghy, an ethnic Hungarian, had his Slovak passport cancelled after taking Hungarian citizenship. In Hungary all who can speak the Magyar language and demonstrate the necessary ancestry are entitled to citizenship under laws that came into force earlier in the year. The law has caused irritation in neighbouring countries where there are significant ethnic Hungarian minorities. Some 2.5 million Hungarian speakers live in neighbouring countries, a legacy of post-First World War peace settlements. Shortly after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government pushed through legislation in 2010 giving diaspora Hungarians the automatic right to citizenship, Slovakia countered with a law stating that its citizens may not hold dual nationality.

The case of Olivér Boldoghy is the first to attract political attention. State secretary Bence Rétvári of the Hungarian Administration and Justice Ministry expressed the Hungarian government’s outrage at the Slovak cancellation of his citizenship. After talks with Hungarian Foreign Ministry state secretary Zsolt Németh, Slovak ambassador Peter Weiss said on 23 November that Slovakia’s law was in line with regulations in several other EU member states. Weiss complained that Hungary was issuing its statements on the issue via the press. “We consider it important that professional consultations over the issue be initiated as soon as possible,” he said. “Unfortunately the state secretary has not responded to this request.”

In a country with a population of some 5 million, the half-million Hungarian speakers form the only major ethnic minority in Slovakia.

back to News index

Public opinion shifts in favour of Janša

Public opinion has coalesced around Janez Janša, according to a poll released by Delo on 30 January, with the recently-appointed PM-elect outranking election winner Zoran Janković for the first time as the most appropriate prime minister.

Janša is seen as the best PM-designate by 38.2% of respondents, up from 31.4% in the previous poll. Janković, on the other hand, slipped from 51% to 34.7%.

The poll was carried out on 24 and 25 January, several days before Janša was actually appointed PM-elect in parliament.

The Pozitivna Slovenija party (Positive Slovenija) led by Ljubljana mayor Zoran Janković won a surprise victory in parliamentary elections on 4 December, gaining 29.5% of the vote against 25.9% for former PM Janez Janša. The party of the current Prime Minister Borut Pahor came third with only 10.3% of the votes. The election had been triggered when his government lost a confidence vote in September over pension reforms.

Janša' however was able to gather support from a five-party centre-right coalition. In the latest poll this appears to have support from 46.4% of respondents whereas 47% disapproved. However his austerity plans to shave €800m off public spending this year does have more support - 56.3% of poll respondents. Similarly more than two-thirds support his plans to put a debt ceiling into the Constitution.

Parliament endorses Janša as PM

The National Assembly on 28 January endorsed Janez Janša, leader of the SDS party (Slovenska demokratska stranka), for prime minister-elect by 51 votes to 39, opening the door for Slovenija to get an agreed government after weeks of political deadlock following the December elections.

Janša was sworn in immediately, and now has two weeks to put forward candidates for cabinet posts, which must be confirmed in a separate vote. If his cabinet is confirmed, Janša will become the prime minister of the tenth Slovenian government since independence.

Janša’s five-party centre-right coalition includes alongside the SDS the Virant List, the People's Party (SLS), Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and New Slovenia (NSi), which together have 50 MPs in the 90-seat National Assembly.

He told the National Assembly that his coalition would work on three priorities: stabilising Slovenija's public finances, restarting the economy and enabling job growth. He hoped the cabinet would be completed by 10 February.

Janša has already been congratulated by President Danilo Türk, by outgoing Prime Minister Borut Pahor and by the leader of the opposition party Pozitivna Slovenija Zoran Janković. In a short address, Pahor called for co-operation: "We need each other, we should respect each other and encourage each other. It is unbelievable what good we can achieve - as individuals and as a group."

Links:  
Information about Slovenija
Index to Slovenian government sites  (right hand column for versions in English)

back to News index

Yulia Tymoshenko loses appeal against jail term

A court in Ukraine has rejected an appeal by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, against her conviction and prison sentence for abuse of office. The appeals court upheld her seven-year jail term for overstepping her authority while negotiating a natural gas contract with Russia in 2009.

Tymoshenko and her lawyers boycotted the appeal proceedings on 23 December, condemning them as a travesty of justice. "Seeking truth and justice in the Ukrainian courts is completely futile," she said in a statement from prison.

Yulia Tymoshenko's trial and imprisonment have been criticised by Russia, the European Union and the United States.

Tymoshenko seen by EU Commissioner Stefan Fuele

EU Commissioner Stefan Fuele has visited jailed Ukraine opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko on the day her appeal was due to be heard in court.

As her supporters gathered outside the court when the hearing opened on 13 December, clashes were reported with riot police who tried to stop them entering the building.

Yulia Tymoshenko, now 51, has complained of severe back pain. Warnings about her condition by Ukraine's human rights envoy last month led to medical tests in a Kiev hospital. Her lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko, said he had met the former PM in the prison's medical wing and urged the appeal court to announce "a break in the case".

TV reports on 13 December said Stefan Fuele, the EU Enlargement Commissioner, had spent half an hour at Lukyanivska prison.

The European Union has condemned her trial as politically motivated and Fuele said he had assured the former prime minister that the 27-member group would continue to follow her appeal closely and "would insist upon the need for her to benefit from all her rights to defend herself in a fair process".

The EU and Ukraine are due to hold a joint summit next week on finalising a deal on political association and the creation of a free trade zone. But the meeting has been overshadowed by Tymoshenko's 7-year jail-term.

Stefan Fuele also had talks with Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych, which he said were aimed at preparing the ground for the summit.

Tymoshenko moved to medical unit in jail

Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Prime Minister and leader of the Batkivschyna Party has been moved to a ward in the medical unit of the detention centre in Kiev, "to undergo a designated course of medical treatment."

"The living conditions in this ward (including the temperature) correspond to European standards, as well as the requirements of national legislation and international standards," the Prison Service report said on 29 November. The prison's medical staff had assessed Tymoshenko's health as "not having deteriorated over the past few days and matching the symptoms of the existing disease."

"She is currently undergoing in full a course of medical treatment designated by a Health Ministry commission," the Prison Service report said. There had been speculation that prison conditions had exacerbated a heart condition, and she had complained of it being too cold.

Heavy winds black out 160 towns and villages

Electricity supply was disrupted to some 160 towns and villages in twelve regions of Ukraine due to the stormy weather on the night of 29 November, the Emergency Ministry's press service reported. Gusts of wind had triggered the power lines protection system.

A total of 54 towns and villages were blacked out in Kiev region, 49 in the Zhytomyr region, and 57 in other regions of the country.

EU and US call for Tymoshenko to be allowed to stand in the next election

A joint statement following the US-EU summit in Washington on 28 November said that the United States and the European Union intended to work together "to support democracy, resolve protracted conflicts, foster economic modernisation, and advance their political association and economic integration with the EU, recognising in this regard the importance of the EU's Eastern Partnership."

They urged the government of Ukraine to uphold democratic values in judicial system and ensure the fair and transparent consideration of an appeal by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko: "We call on the government of Ukraine to make good on commitments to uphold democratic values and the rule of law, notably to ensure a fair, transparent and impartial process in trials related to members of the former government including any appeal in the case of Ms Tymoshenko."

"The right of appeal should not be compromised by imposing limitations on the defendants' ability to stand in future elections in Ukraine, including the parliamentary elections scheduled for next year," the statement said.

back to News index