Leader of the Palikot Movement, Janusz Palikot (right) campaigns for his candidate for mayor Ewa Białkowska and against PO candidates: photo - PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland's largest opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), former justice minister and now MEP Zbigniew Ziobro, and liberal leader Janusz Palikot were all in Elblag, Thursday, campaigning for local candidates in both mayor and councillor elections.
The positions came up for grabs in mid-April when voters recalled the former mayor, Grzegorz Nowaczyk and local politicians from Civic Platform (PO) – the centre-right party led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk which controlled the local authority - in a referendum called for by the 'Free Elblag' group.
In the final days of campaigning, opposition parties have sent their big guns to the city in the hope of scoring a crushing victory over the national governing party, at a time when Civic Platform's opinion poll ratings are on the slide.
PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski presses the flesh in Elblag: photo - PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk
Ten candidates are standing for the position of mayor in the city, 250 kilometres from Warsaw near the Baltic coast, from national party representatives to local activists on tax, services and other issues.
This week Civic Platform have sent in prominent politicians Agnieszka Pomaska and Julia Pitera, though Prime Minister Tusk has yet to appear.
A survey by TNN pollsters taken on 12 and 13 June showed local politicians from the conservative Law and Justice had 29 percent support, liberal Palikot Movement candidates 18 percent and Civic Platform in third on 17 percent.
Turnout for the election of mayor and 25 councillors, however, is predicted to be low at 24 percent. (pg)
Poland in the dock over GM crops
The European Commission is taking Poland to the European Court of Justice for „non-compliance with EU rules on monitoring of Genetically Modified Organisms' cultivation”.
"Today, the Commission has decided to refer Poland to the EU Court of Justice for failure to comply with the principles of monitoring GM crops," a directive by the commission said, Thursday.
The directive says all member states must make information on what crops are being grown and where open to the public.
Despite an EC directive dated 22 November asking Poland to address these deficiencies, “Poland has so far failed to include these requirements into its national legislation,” the EC statement said.
Though Poland passed laws in January of this year prohibiting the cultivation of genetically modified MON 810 maize and potato Amflora, a ban on some GM crops does not relieve Poland from implementing EU directives.
A member state must implement EU regulations and “the state must have a record of such crops,” spokesman for the European Commission's Health and Consumer Policy Frederic Vincent is quoted by the PAP news agency as saying.
. - Now in Poland grown genetically modified organisms, but maybe one day it will change. Perhaps one of the future governments allow the cultivation of GMOs. So the record is needed - added in an interview with PAP. According to a European Commission November 22, 2012, the Commission asked Poland to take action to make up for the shortcomings in the implementation of EU legislation on the monitoring of GM crops. However, until now Poland, after repeated calls from the Commission on the implementation of the relevant requirements into their national laws, does not comply with the relevant provisions of EU law - inform the European Commission. facing a lawsuit in the Court of Justice of the EU, the Commission has not sought the imposition of financial penalties on Poland .