Ursula von der Leyen is proud. Her College is gender almost-balanced. There are 27 members, 14 men and 13 women. There were never as many ladies in the European Commission college. Yet, is this truly her College? Yes, she asked for female candidates. She also asked for two candidates to chose from. In the past … Continue reading Ursula’s College: the critical approach
On 13 October, Poles will go to the polls to chose their parliament. Who will rule Poland for the next four years? What are different political actors fighting for in this elections?
It is evening, 19 August 2019. Another sunny, hot day. The climate change shows its positive side for holiday-makers, as there are thousands of people on the sunny sandy beaches over the southern Baltic coast and thousands more hike the hills and mountains of south Poland. 30 degrees in the shade, and the political campaign … Continue reading The Ministry of Hate
Krzysztof Szczerski will not be a European Commissioner.
Jarosław Kaczyński sees a conspiracy between independent judiciary, European Union and LGBT
Marek Kuchciński is no longer Speaker of the Sejm. His flights scandal made him grounded.
Poland's national elections campaign is on! 13 October is the date.
Ursula von der Leyen has a busy summer. She is touring the EU capitals searching for her Commissioners. By now she's been in Paris, Warsaw, Rome and Budapest, among other capital cities. In Warsaw she found her Polish Commissioner. On her visit to Warsaw on 25 July Ursula von der Leyen underlines that there is … Continue reading The Quest for the Commissioner is (not yet) over
There are 20 Committees in the European Parliament and 2 sub-Committees. There are 51 MEPs elected in Poland. Who sits where? Here is the list of all the MEPs elected in Poland who are either full members or substitutes in the Committees: Foreign Affairs (AFET): 10 MEPs Robert Biedroń, S&DAdam Bielan, ECRWłodzimierz Cimoszewicz, S&D (ex-foreign … Continue reading Polish MEPs in EP Committees
Many countries have already appointed next Commissioners. There is a deficit of women. The Polish Commissioner is still missing. For the time being the list is closed. By the time Ursula von der Leyen comes to Warsaw the decision is most likely going to be announced later this week. The issue is reported in today's … Continue reading The Quest for a Polish Commissioner continues
In the European Elections 46% Poles took part, which is an astounding increase with the previous European votes in 2004, 2009 and 2014 (all with 20-25% participation level). In October 2018 during the local and regional elections some 55% Poles went to the polls. This was the best turn out in local and regional elections … Continue reading Polish democracy: gay rights or gay propaganda?
Law and Justice has a very difficult period in the new European Parliament. It comes into the chamber as the winner of the Polish vote. Since, there are problems. First small, then big. The first small problem is the fact that the group of PiS, European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is relegated from the 3rd … Continue reading Difficult first weeks in the Parliament for PiS
In the chaos of transition between the Parliaments and the Commissions there are some surprise stories, twists and attempted shortcuts. There are unintended consequences and parallel processes that impact one another. Here's one such story. 26 May, the end of European elections. Among new MEPs are two ex-Commissioners, Andrus Ansip and Corina Creţu. 2 June, … Continue reading How the Szydło affair keeps Commissioners-nominees hostage
Ursula von der Leyen delivers the speech of her lifetime. See the details here #Gimme5EU
10 July 2019. Meeting of the European People's Party in the European Parliament in Brussels. Main theme: meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, candidate for the presidency of the European Commission. The meeting is closed, after the meeting there is a statement that the EPP "fully" supports von der Leyen. After meeting the candidate, Manfred … Continue reading Will all of EPP support Ursula?
Beata Szydło loses the leadership of EMPL committee. PiS is humiliated in the European Parliament.
There are 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament. Elected in three rounds on Wednesday, here they are: The natural thing for the European Parliament in choosing its vice-president is to do so by a consensus between the political groups. Except for, there is no consensus in this new European Parliament. Cordon sanitaire There are two … Continue reading Krasnodębski is NOT a Vice-President. How come?
The next day starts with the big news of yesterday: Ursula is the new Queen of Europe. Yikes! In Poland the debate is if this is a true win for the Polish government or not so much. Let us put this empty debate aside. Not relevant for the future if you sell something as a … Continue reading The Italian Affair
2 July 2019, a series of tweets of Donald Tusk: https://twitter.com/eucopresident/status/1146102183034785792 https://twitter.com/eucopresident/status/1146102257555050496 https://twitter.com/eucopresident/status/1146102340732235776 https://twitter.com/eucopresident/status/1146102409959227395 This is the package negotiated by the European Council. No place for Mr Weber. No place for Mr Timmermans. Why? The European People's Party got stubborn in their demands for an EPP politician on top of the next European Commission. If … Continue reading Habemus papam… not yet
If you follow the top-jobs debate in the European Union you may know about the stalemate since 26 May. The stalemate is political and institutional. It is institutional between the European Council and the European Parliament, who says that the next European Commission President should come from among the Spitzen-candidates. The views in the European … Continue reading European Council negotiates top jobs
