Eurasia Press & News
Poland cements its status as key NATO state with Biden visit; as Slovakia commemorates the anniversary of the contract killing of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, a new trial date for the alleged masterminds is set.
All eyes on Poland this week as US President Joe Biden visited first Kyiv, then Warsaw as he sought to assure allies on the one-year anniversary pf Russia’s invasion that US backing for Ukraine and NATO was unequivocal. At a Wednesday meeting of the Bucharest Nine (B9) – an internal NATO alliance of eastern states – Biden told the B9 leaders: “You are the frontlines of our collective defence. You know better than anyone what’s at stake in this conflict [with Russia] not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.” He pledged that NATO’s mutual-defence pact is “sacred” and that “we will defend literally every inch of NATO.” Marcin Przydacz, head of the international policy office of Polish President Andrzej Duda, who was hosting the event, was quoted by Notes from Poland as saying that the meeting was a chance for the B9 countries to work out a joint position ahead of July’s NATO summit in Vilnius.
On the same day, Polish Environment Minister Anna Moskwa and US Ambassador Mark Brzezinski signed a deal for Westinghouse Electric Company to cooperate in pre-designing Poland’s first nuclear power plant using the US company’s technology. While Poland is close to substituting Russian gas, it still depends on coal for around 70 per cent of its electricity production. Warsaw hopes to reduce its use of coal – over 70 per cent of which is currently imported from Russia – via an ambitious plan to build up to six nuclear units by 2040. Moskwa said construction of the first plant is expected to begin in 2026 and start supplying Poland’s power grid in 2032. Transitioning to green energy will be crucial for Poland, as was laid bare in a letter from Google, Amazon, Mercedes and Ikea to Poland’s prime minister and parliament, published this week by the Polish Press Agency. In it, the companies called on the government to support the development of green energy to attract continued investment and for changes to a proposed new law on wind farms.
Retrial set for alleged Kuciak murder masterminds; no dilution in prosecutor power
In the week when Slovakia was commemorating the five-year anniversary of the contract killing of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, a spokesperson for the Special Court for Organised Crime confirmed that a fresh trial against businessman Marian Kocner and his alleged accomplice Alena Zsuzsova would begin on Monday. In 2020, two men pled guilty and testified over their involvement in the murders, receiving sentences of 15 and 23 years. Another pled not guilty, but was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in jail, though at the same trial Kocner and Zsuzsova were found not guilty of planning and paying for the murder on the grounds of a lack of evidence. The prosecution successfully appealed and a new trial was ordered. The killings confirmed many Slovaks’ worst fears that the country had been hijacked by networks of organised crime, oligarchal power and political mafia. To mark the anniversary, a group of international media NGOs conducted a fact-finding mission to evaluate press freedom in Slovakia five years after their murders. “In meetings with the President, Prime Minister and political parties, we encouraged them to continue reforms and implement new measures to improve safety of journalists and independence of the media – including the public broadcaster RTVS – and to protect against abusive lawsuits and defend whistleblowers,” the group said in a statement.
One top position tainted by the nationwide scandal that ensued after the murder was that of prosecutor general, whose previous holders were discovered to have had ties with Kocner. The present incumbent, Maros Zilinka, has also come under scrutiny after he applied his exclusive power to scrap decisions by the police or other prosecutors and end trials during pre-trial proceedings in several controversial cases, including that of former PM Robert Fico. President Zuzana Caputova asked the Constitutional Court in January to review its use, though interim PM Eduard Heger said this week it is unlikely the controversial Paragraph 363 of the Penal Code will be changed during this election period that runs until September.
Orban claims ‘only’ a war between Slavic nations; China the new BFF
The first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have provided a golden opportunity for the Hungarian government to rethink its political position in the conflict and end its diplomatic isolation, but PM Viktor Orban made it crystal clear in his State of the Nation address last weekend that Hungary will maintain economic relations with Russia and advised other countries to do likewise. “We see the war in Ukraine as not a war between armies of good and evil, but a war between the troops of two Slavic countries. It is their war, not ours.” In another speech to a closed-door party meeting, Orban bluntly stated that “no one could win this war”, including Russia – somewhat new information for the government-controlled media, where pundits openly cheer on Russia and expect Putin to end victorious. In a further sign of Hungary’s growing isolation, Bulgaria announced it would exit Russian spybank the International Investment Bank (IIB), now headquartered in Budapest. Czechia and Slovakia have already quit the bank, and Romania will sell its stake by June this year. Thus, Hungary remains the second largest shareholder in IIB after Russia, in the good company of Cuba and Mongolia.
While its EU and NATO allies were busy demonstrating steadfast support for Ukraine, Hungarian diplomacy rolled out the red carpet for Chinese Foreign Minister Vang Ji. Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto boasted that this is the 15th time they have met and each time “we were confronted with a number of crises in the last years… we have always emerged stronger.” He alluded to Chinese COVID-19 vaccines and ventilators provided during the pandemic – unfortunately, independent media revealed both proved rather ineffective despite costing a fortune. Szijjarto also praised Chinese investments in the country, ignoring that the CATL battery factor to be built in the eastern city of Debrecen is proving to be the most controversial project in Hungary in the last decade. For the highlight of the visit, Szijjarto took his colleague out to eat “langos”, Hungarian deep-fried flatbread, on the outskirts of Budapest, sharing photos of the somewhat unorthodox diplomatic lunch on social media.
In line with the government’s anti-EU policies, Justice Minister Judit Varga declined to meet the European Parliament’s PEGA delegation, which is looking into governmental use of Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, calling the visit a “farce”. On Facebook, Varga accused the nine-member delegation of serving “the political aims of the European left” and stressed she saw no point in meeting, as “national security remains an exclusive competence of member states.” Instead, the PEGA delegation met with parliament’s National Security Committee, president of the National Data Protection Authority, and with journalists and representatives of NGOs. Jeroen Lenaers (EPP, Netherlands), head of the delegation, was scathing about Hungarian government explanations. “All signs point to significant misuse of spy software in Hungary. I find the authorities’ reference to national security reasons very unconvincing… I am convinced the rule of law and fundamental democratic principles have been seriously violated in Hungary, and that the country’s situation is one of the worst in the EU,” he said.
Czechs lead the Euro 7; irritating Russia hawks
The Czech government is seeking to upend yet another effort from Brussels to reduce the environmental impact of cars, canvassing fellow auto-making member states to club together to resist European Commission proposals to tighten emissions under the “Euro 7” banner. The likes of France, Germany and Poland turned up to a meeting recently to hear out Prague’s claims that the proposed new restrictions and July 2025 deadline for implementing them are “unreasonable” and pose a risk to the car industry. However, it appears that while many of the attendees remain concerned about the deadline, they’re unconvinced by Prague’s bid to ditch stricter standards entirely. It’s not the first instance in which the Czechs have taken a radical stance. Despite pledging a more positive approach to environmental issues, PM Petr Fiala has also slammed EU plans to halt production of internal combustion engines by 2035 to switch to electric vehicles. However, some auto industry voices have expressed frustration that the government is failing to get ahead of the curve to push Czechia as an EV hub. They note that decisions over the location of EV production by Czechia’s three major automakers – Skoda, Toyota and Hyundai – will be made in Germany and Asia, not Prague.
Although Czechia’s staunch support for Kyiv is undisputable, officials in Prague were busy during last weekend’s Munich Security Conference irritating Russia hawks. President-elect Petr Pavel got the ball rolling as he declared that while Putin’s invasion must be defeated, Russia must not be crushed. The risks for Europe, he warned, stemming from a power vacuum in the world’s largest country – and a nuclear power to boot – are all too clear. Meanwhile, Michal Koudelka, head of the Czech counterintelligence agency BIS, cautioned that China poses a “more insidious” threat than Russia. Pavel’s comments followed a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, and were echoed by the French president, who in the summer was denounced by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba for stating Russia should not be “humiliated”. The Kyiv official was also quick to slam the Czech president-in-waiting, a former NATO general – a reaction hailed by the brigade of keyboard warriors that has evolved during the war, who appear happy to pump out populist polemics, such as calling for Russia’s dismemberment, as they hunt followers.
