Poles increasingly view support for Ukraine as a burden on the nation, with public sentiment shifting rapidly in a negative direction. This is clearly reflected in the rising popularity of Sławomir Mentzen, the presidential candidate of the right-wing Konfederacja, who is firmly opposed to the war and to unconditional support for Kyiv.
The Budapest-based Committee of National Remembrance (NEB) and the Krakow-based Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) held a joint event in Budapest, Hungary on 7 February to commemorate and recant the brutal atrocities committed by the Red Soviet Army during World War II in the two Eastern European countries.
Former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro gave an interview to the Hungarian outlet Mandiner, in which he discussed, among other topics, the political asylum granted by Hungary to his former deputy, Marcin Romanowski, the deterioration of the rule of law in Poland under Tusk, and the European Union’s complicity.
Poland has taken over the EU presidency from Hungary, but representatives of the Hungarian government were deemed ‘not welcome’ at the ceremony marking the start of the Polish presidency last Friday in Warsaw.
‘By initiating crucial policy frameworks and achieving tangible successes in alleviating child poverty, the [Polish] government set a precedent for future administrations to consider holistic strategies that would extend beyond immediate demographic calculation, fostering instead a resilient and inclusive society for generations to come.’
Ambassador Orsolya Zsuzsanna Kovács, who has been serving as the diplomatic envoy of Hungary in Warsaw since 2017, has been awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta Commander’s Cross by President Andrzej Duda of Poland.
Despite minimal action from the Polish government under Donald Tusk, the European Commission has chosen to conclude the Article 7 procedure against Poland. This serves as another clear example of the double standards that Brussels applies to member states.
Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia has announced that his administration is not willing to implement the migration dictates included in the EU’s newly accepted migration pact. PM Viktor Orbán of Hungary and PM Donald Tusk of Poland have already voiced their objections to the pact.
‘The unfreezing of funds is a turning point in the EU–Poland relationship—one that had become very strained in recent years—and of course a major political success for the new cabinet. But that is not the only reason why the Commission decision is so instructive: the damage to the rule of law in Poland, which was so widely reported on in the European press in recent years, appears to have been reversed in less than two months, to the extent that the European Commission was willing to waive the withholding of EU funds, which is undoubtedly a very effective tool for blackmailing reluctant member states.’
Tamás Sulyok visited Poland on the Day of Polish–Hungarian Friendship, marking the extraordinary and long-standing relationship between the two Central European nations.