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NEWS
www.wbj.pl
APRIL 18-25, 2011
Ukraine
Belarus
Tusk steps into East-West divide Minsk blast Polish PM Donald Tusk and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, were in Kiev a day apart last week for separate highlevel talks with the Ukrainian government. The visits illustrate an uncomfortable choice facing Ukraine between East and West. The two prime ministers flew in just as Ukraine is negotiating potentially conflicting trade agreements with the European Union, on the one hand, and with the Moscow-
led Single Economic Space (SES), on the other hand. The latter is being formed from the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. In Kiev, Mr Tusk stressed that the development of relations between Ukraine and the EU was a priority for Poland’s EU presidency, and that Ukraine-EU talks on an Association Agreement (AA) and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) were at a turning point. The AA, which entails deep and comprehensive integration of Ukraine to European norms and standards, could be signed by the end of this year under
the Polish presidency, said S∏awomir Matuszak, a specialist on Ukraine at Warsaw’s Center for Eastern Studies. However, EU trade officials have warned that becoming a member of the SES would stop Ukraine’s trade deal with the EU in its tracks. According to Mr Matuszak, the Kremlin’s surprise at the speed of progress in EUUkraine negotiations was the only reason behind Mr Putin’s sudden visit to Kiev last week. In a meeting with the Ukrainian president and prime minister, Mr Putin reportedly offered lower gas prices and suggested Ukraine’s annual
expected to fuel repression
revenues could rise by $9 billion if it joined the SES. Officially, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that Ukraine would not join the SES and that his goal remained firmly to sign the AA and the DCFTA. “But at the same time, if Russia comes up with a very advantageous offer, we cannot rule out Ukraine finding a pretext to obstruct negotiations with the EU,” said Mr Matuszak. “Nobody should come to Kiev and give advice,” said Mr Tusk during his visit. “Ukrainians are a proud people and they choose their own future.”
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Ukraine needs to choose between a trade deal with the EU or one with Moscow
Alice Trudelle
COURTESY OF KPRM
Two suspects have been arrested, but the motive is still unclear
Miles apart? Polish PM Tusk (left) and Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Azarov talked trade in Kiev
who’s news? Fabrice Bansay has been appointed president of Apsys Polska’s management board. He has replaced Olivier Gerard-Coester, president of the parent company’s management board, who has to date been responsible for both the French and the Polish markets. Mr Bansay has been with Apsys since 2000 when he started work in Poland, handling the commecialization of projects such as Manufaktura in ¸ódê. In later years, Mr Bansay continued his career with the group in other roles, including commercial director of Apsys France and president of Apsys Russia’s management board.
and CISA with over 16 years of business, technical and operational experience gained with big four and major consulting companies in Poland and in North America. He specializes in the advisory and delivery of risk management, audit and control assessment, forensic, information security, and business continuity services. Mr Rezler holds a master’s degree in electronics engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology and a master’s in public accountancy from McGill University in Montreal (Canada).
Sean Doyle has recently been promoted to the position of associate director in the capital markets department of CB Richard Ellis Poland. He joined CBRE in 2010 and has eight years of commercial real estate experience in the US, UK and Central Europe. Mr Doyle deals with sales and acquisitions of retail, logistics and office properties. He is a qualified member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and speaks a number of foreign languages.
Wojciech Sury has been appointed director of Getin Noble Bank’s PR office, where he will be responsible for shaping the firm’s PR strategy. Mr Sury will continue to serve as press representative for Getin Bank and Getin Leasing, but is now also responsible for communications and PR for the Sky Tower luxury high-rise investment in Wroc∏aw.
Christian Manhusen has take over the sales director post at Oriflame Poland. He is responsible for realizing the firm’s sales development strategy for Poland. Mr Manhusen previously held the general director post at Oriflame’s Egypt branch; prior to that he held the same post in Chile.
Konrad Szałkiewicz has been made director for Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia at Herbalife. He has taken up the post in the firm’s Warsaw office. Mr Sza∏kiewicz began his professional career with Mars/Masterfoods Polska as a sales representative, later holding various management functions in the sales and training departments. He then joined Avon Cosmetics, moving later to Oriflame as sales director for Poland. Mr Sza∏kiewicz is a graduate of the University of Humanities and Economics in ¸ódê. ●
Krzysztof Rezler has joined Mazars Poland as director in the advisory department. He is responsible for further developing the company’s services in the CEE region. Mr Rezler is a CPA, CA
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As of Friday, Belarusian authorities had arrested five people in connection with a deadly blast at a Minsk subway station in mid-April, including the alledged perpetrator. But both the authorities and independent experts were still uncertain about the perpetrators’ motives for the bombing, which killed 12 people and wounded around 200. Speculating about responsibility for the attack, various media outlets had suggested Islamic groups, opposition groups or the Russian authorities. Kamil K∏ysiƒski, an expert on Belarus at Warsaw’s Center for Eastern Studies, roundly rejected the three possibilities. It seems likely, however, that the Belarusian authorities will now take a more oppressive stance against both the political opposition and Polish minority activists. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has
hinted as much himself, ordering security services to interrogate “political actors regardless of democracy, and the cries and wailing of pathetic Westerners.” Without going as far as saying that the attack could have been staged by Belarusian authorities themselves, Mr K∏ysiƒski said he believed that Mr Lukashenko would use the tragedy to tighten his control over the state and to mobilize society and the political elite around him. And, as the Belarusian economy continues to struggle with severe shortages of goods and foreign currency, taking a tighter grip on power may be something of a conditioned response from the leader. “Belarusian society and especially Mr Lukashenko, who is mostly preoccupied with politics, have been surprised by the deteriorating economic situation. They don’t have a comprehensive idea to solve the problem,” concluded Mr K∏ysiƒski. Alice Trudelle
Poland soon to welcome Libyan war refugees? Polish Interior Minister Jerzy Miller has said that Poland would be ready to accept “a few dozen” of the over 800 Libyan refugees that arrived in Malta over the past week. His rationale is that they are not able to return to their homelands out of fear of being persecuted. Tunisians, and other North Africans who continue to arrive in large numbers in Italy, however, will not benefit from Poland’s help, as the country considers them to be primarily economic migrants. Mr Miller made these comments following a meeting of European Union interior ministers in Luxembourg last week. Several other countries pledged support to Malta,
including Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Sweden, Portugal, Spain and Norway. Many countries also denounced Italy’s decision to grant visas to around 23,000 refugees who have flooded the small island of Lampedusa since the start of Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution” in January. The visas are intended to cover the Schengen Area, which includes Poland and most of Western Europe. Germany, Austria and France, in particular, have said that they would increase control at their borders in order to prevent those immigrants who are not economically self-sufficient from crossing. Alice Trudelle