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FOR Communication 11/2019: Entrepreneurs’ test - more power in the hands of bureaucrats | 2019-03-29
moreThe introduction of the entrepreneurs' test is not a reform, but an attempt to find additional tax revenues needed to finance Morawski's Five. Giving bureaucrats the right to decide who can use the 19% PIT and who is to pay the full 40% PIT and ZUS contributions will be another source of conflict between the administration and taxpayers.
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FOR Communication 10/2019: Polish rule of law before the European Court of Justice: reflections after the hearing on the Disciplinary Chamber and the new National Council of the Judiciary [NCJ] | 2019-03-26
moreIs 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.
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Rule of Law in Poland - English-language online resource on the backsliding of the rule of law in Poland | 2019-03-18
moreThe Wiktor Osiatyński Archive, Civil Development Forum (FOR), and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Warsaw have created the Rule of Law in Poland, a new English-language online resource on the backsliding of the rule of law in Poland.
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FOR Communication 8/2019: Morawiecki's Sweet but Untrue Figures | 2019-03-08
moreAlmost 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.
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Press briefing with the participation of Madeleine Albright, Lech Wałęsa and Leszek Balcerowicz | 2019-03-08
moreA special press briefing with the participation of Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State of the United States, Lech Wałęsa, former President of the Republic of Poland and Leszek Balcerowicz, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
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FOR Communication 7/2019: Capital Investment Fund - Another Instrument for the Nationalization of the Economy | 2019-03-06
moreOn 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.
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Leszek Balcerowicz: Poland was a pioneer in comprehensive and radical transition, Segye Times | 2019-03-05
moreIn an interview with the Korean newspaper Segye Times, Leszek Balcerowicz talked about the transitions in Poland.
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FOR Communication 6/2019: The Right to Observe the Sessions of the Sejm in View of the Latest Jurisprudence of Administrative Courts | 2019-03-04
moreThe 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.
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FOR Communication 5/2019: Law and Justice: "Après nous, le déluge" [After us, the flood] | 2019-02-25
moreIn 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.
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FOR 4/2019 communication: Populism Index 2019 - Highest support for populist parties since 1980 | 2019-02-20
moreThe 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.