Polish government

The hollowness of the Polish state has been exposed by the coronavirus pandemic: almost half a million people died in the country last year, the highest figure since World War II, and 20 per cent above the annual average in recent years, according to data compiled by Gazeta Wyborcza.

Mayors of Pact of Free Cities: (from L to R) Zdenek Hrib, Rafal Trzaskowski and Gergely Karacsony. Photo: Trzaskowski Facebook page

Politicians from Poland's governing coalition have fallen back on the typical anti-German tropes to justify the veto.

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Immediately following Macron's visit, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a "muzzle" law that empowers the government to punish judges for acting independently.

Duda then added insult to injury by hosting the president of North Macedonia, a country that has its own dispute with France following Macron's decision to block its EU accession bid.

The date that evokes the onset of those nightmares is September 1, 1939 — the day Germany invaded Poland.

On Sunday, around 250 international guests will meet in Warsaw to commemorate the beginning of the darkest period of European history.

Katalin Kevehazi, President of the Budapest-based JOL-LET (Well-Being) Foundation and a prominent expert on women in the labour market, said the plan's support for traditional nuclear families has a political dimension beyond fertility rates.

A group of men standing nearby overheard him expressing his disgust. The couple rode on, but one of the men later caught up with them and asked Witkowski whether he liked the graffiti. He said no. The man broke his nose.

POZNAŃ - The Leaders participating at the Berlin Process Summit in Poznań unanimously reaffirmed their unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans, reads the Chair's conclusions released today by the Polish Government.

Bulgaria is the latest country refusing to sign the UN global migration agreement, following Hungary, Poland, Croatia, and the Czech Republic.

Although approved in July by all 193 UN members, except the US, several countries from Central and Eastern Europe are now stepping back.