The Warsaw Voice, Summer, 2019

This publication is part of The Warsaw Voice Multimedia Platform in Poland

Elections 1989 Everything Went Perfectly p. 4

Published since 1988

After the European Elections A Lot of Trouble p. 8

Summer 2019 No. 2 (1220)

Pharmaceutical Sector in Poland No Development Mode p. 12

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4

Times of Choices –

Everything Went Perfectly Bogdan Borusewicz, deputy speaker of the Senate and former leading democratic opposition activist, talks to Witold ˚ygulski: It has been 30 years since the elections of June 4, 1989, considered by many to have been the beginning of the end of the communist regime in Poland. How do you assess the significance of this date?

The Round Table outcome of a free, five-adjective [universal, secret, direct, equal and proportional] election to the newly formed Senate and partially free elections to the Sejm was a huge achievement for the democratic opposition. I didn't expect the communists to agree to such a solution.

However, the elections to the Sejm were not proportional; the authorities guaranteed themselves 65 percent of the seats, leaving only 35 percent for independent candidates. In this way, the Polish United Workers' Party [PZPR, the communist party], also on behalf of its satellite parties - the United People's Party (ZSL) and the Democratic Party (SD) - wanted to guarantee itself control over the newly elected parliament.

However, the elections ended in a shocking, total defeat for the ruling camp. This caused the camp to actually disintegrate, which in turn dramatically accelerated the course of the political transformation. The voters inflicted a terrible blow on the PZPR team and once and for all dispelled the belief that society accepted the system imposed on Poland after World War II. The changes progressed dramatically; it seemed that the communists controlled the Sejm, but the opposition managed to get the aforementioned satellite parties onto its side.

It turned out that those who had been in power securely for so many years had lost their majority in parliament.

Winning the votes of ZSL and SD MPs was a political tour de force. Earlier, as the opposition, we tried to change the proportions in the newly elected Sejm by indicating which of the representatives from the government lists people should vote for. We supported candidates who we knew would be willing to leave the camp of power and come over to our side. In my constituency on the coast they included, for example, Tadeusz Bieƒ from the SD, who later joined the opposition caucus, and Tadeusz Fiszbach from the PZPR, known for his reformist convictions. Such efforts could, of course, have changed the parliamentary proportion somewhat in our favor, but we would not have gained an advantage. This was only possible after the votes of the ZSL and SD MPs, who were looking for a place for themselves in the new political situation.

The scale of the election defeat shocked the communists from the PZPR. The Sejm, which theoretically, according to the then Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland, had full

power but in practice was a decoration, a tool in the hands of the Central Committee and the Political Bureau of the PZPR, suddenly became the actual legislative branch of power. It could choose a prime minister and a new government. Thus, on Sept. 12, 1989, after the total failure of the mission to form a government by the PZPR’s General Czes∏aw Kiszczak, the cabinet of Tadeusz Mazowiecki was formed, as the first non-communist government in the countries of the Soviet Bloc.

History accelerated: It turned out that even the prime minister, who had carried out the orders of the communist party in the times of People's Poland, had real, enormous power, could dismiss and appoint anyone, including, importantly, in the economic sphere. It needs remembering that companies were largely state-owned at the time, so their managers were subordinated to the government.

Let us go back for a moment to the period, very brief, between the signing of the Round Table agreements and the elections; what was the campaign of the Solidaritybased opposition like, how were the independent parliamentary candidates selected?

I do not know exactly how it went elsewhere, but in Gdaƒsk, in my constituency of origin, I simply nominated the candidates. There were no democratic procedures at that time because there was not even a single entity to conduct them. I was the local leader of Solidarity and I knew the people I had worked with for almost a decade in the anticommunist underground. I knew they were strong individuals, I knew that if necessary they would fight hard for our cause; they were hard-working, they had the necessary knowledge. They had all proved themselves in underground activity. These were not people who would back out when democratic changes had to be made. Among them were Jan Krzysztof Bielecki [later prime minister, in 1991], Jacek Merkel [in 1990 Lech Walesa's chief of staff in the presidential election], Krzysztof Dowgia∏∏o, my right-hand man in the underground [in 1989-1993 vice-president of the International Labor Organization] and, finally, Lech Kaczyƒski [president of Poland from 2005, who died tragically in the crash of a government plane on April 10, 2010 near the Smolensk airport in Russia].

There was a problem with choosing a female candidate. I believed we had to have a woman in the running, although the underground, understandably, was dominated by male company. I considered Alina Pieƒkowska [a nurse by profession, in the 1970s co-organizer of the Free Trade Unions of the Coast, an organization whose activists co-created Solidarity many years later], but the problem was that she was my wife. If the candidates had been appointed by a larger body, her place on the list would certainly have been safe: She had experience and knowledge, she worked on a team dealing with healthcare system reform. But I was the one Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

VOICE - POLITICS & SOCIETY tures of Solidarity had not found a place on the list for his twin brother Jaros∏aw [today chairman of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, considered to be the number one political figure in the ruling camp since 2015]. Because I believed that people with such political potential should be elected to the parliament, and that two brothers could not run for the parliament in Gdaƒsk, I went to Elblàg and put Jaros∏aw on the list there, firmly and very harshly, to huge opposition from local activists.

Selecting candidates was easy. But then we had to, first of all, campaign as effectively as possible and, secondly, ensure the fairness of the elections as effectively as possible. Many amongst us were afraid the communists would try to falsify the results. We had to have a representative on every electoral commission. The information structure had to be prepared in such a way that the results of voting from local commissions would flow, in real time, to our headquarters parallel to those that went to the provincial electoral commissions. When the votes were counted and the final report had been written, a phone call was made to our center. This clearly prevented possible manipulation.

Did anything disappoint you on June 4, 1989?

I must admit I was disappointed with the turnout, which was only 62 percent in the first round of voting. I was counting on an 80-percent turnout, on Poles longing for

Rafa∏ Po∏awski

doing the appointing and it was arbitrary, so I asked Alina to suggest someone. She indicated Olga Krzy˝anowska, a Solidarity activist, doctor, daughter of General Aleksander Krzy˝anowski, codename Wilk, a commander in the Home Army [AK, the largest military underground organization operating in Europe during World War II] in the Vilnius region [today's Lithuania], imprisoned by the communists in the Soviet Union and in the People's Republic of Poland, who died in prison in 1951. Her candidacy, apart from the fact that she was well qualified, had a symbolic aspect as well: It showed the historical continuity of the struggle for the freedom, independence and sovereignty of Poland. In the structures of the anti-communist underground on the Coast, we had people from the generation that in their youth had been in the Home Army or the Government Delegation for Poland [the underground authorities in Poland under German occupation, subordinated to the government-in-exile in London].

So I chose people who were well known, who had authority in their communities. The best proof of this was the absence of any objections, of any discussions such as “why him and not me?”.

I encountered an exception to this, but not in my constituency. During work on the election candidate lists, for which we had very little time as the campaign was just a few weeks long, Lech Kaczyƒski told me that the Warsaw struc-

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Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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6 democracy. But society was tired of a decade of fierce fighting, years of arrests of opposition activists, years of imprisonment and various harassment by the communist authorities, years of their trying to talk the oppositionists round, to create new pseudo-trade unions, etc. Some people cracked, some were so tired that they doubted it made any sense. Hence the turnout was not as high as we had hoped. Of course, looking from the perspective of all the successive elections that took place in Poland in the following 30 years, the turnout on June 4, 1989 was very high, almost record-breaking.

During the elections on June 4, things happened that no one could have foreseen. The best example was the rejection of the entire so-called National List, a group of 35 most important candidates of the PZPR communist party who were meant to have had guaranteed seats in the parliament. Meanwhile, they were wiped out. For the communists it was a shock all the more because these "ironclad" candidates were even rejected by voters within military units, in places where uniformed, military or communist police staff voted. It became clear that a scenario of retaining power by force, i.e. reintroducing something like martial law [the communist authorities had introduced it in Poland almost a decade earlier, on Dec. 13, 1981], which was still being considered, as we were well aware, was practically impossible.

The PZPR immediately demanded a repeat of the vote for the National List in the second round of the elections. The Church, apparently afraid of a dramatic exacerbation of the political and social situation, was also in favor of this option.

In fact, representatives of the Episcopate behaved in a similar way later, prior to July 19, 1989 urging MPs and senators to vote for the candidacy of General Wojciech Jaruzelski [the main architect of martial law and dictator of the People's Republic of Poland at that time] as Poland’s president. [He was elected by a majority of just one vote in a parliamentary vote; after 14 months he announced he was cutting short his term in office, and there was also a change in the law, introducing universal presidential elections. On Dec. 22, 1990, Lech Wa∏´sa became president.]

It seemed, therefore, that the curious hybrid of democracy and dictatorship we had to deal with in Poland then, would last a long time. But the situation quickly went beyond the communists’ control. It was clear that they had decided to hold partially free elections in order to transfer responsibility for Poland’s disastrous economic situation to the opposition. If this hybrid had lasted, with Jaruzelski as president, General Kiszczak as minister of the interior and General Florian Siwicki as minister of defense, the communists would have had all the cards to stay in power. But it only lasted until July 1990, when both generals left the cabinet and Jaruzelski soon declared his departure as well.

The disintegration of this hybrid was also supported by events in other countries of the Bloc...

The Soviet Union was collapsing before our very eyes, the other countries of the former “socialist fraternity” camp stepped onto the path we had paved toward democracy. In Hungary, their own Round Table was held; in Czechoslovakia, former dissident Vaclav Havel took over presidential power; the German Democratic Republic broke up with a bang after the

fall of the Berlin Wall. In such a geopolitical situation, the communists in Poland lost the argument that they had been using openly or obliquely for many years - the threat of Soviet military intervention in our country. This argument worked during the years of the first Solidarity movement; in 1980-81 we were unable to transfer the Polish transformations to neighboring countries. We were then subjected to very strong and effective isolation. In 1989 we were no longer isolated, there were changes around us, the Soviet Union itself, after several years of Mikhail Gorbachev's rule, was no longer the same as a decade before. In 1988 the Lithuanian Communist Party declared its independence from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It all started to fall apart.

The political transformation in our part of Europe took place, which needs underlining, almost without bloodshed. With the exception of Romania, where around a thousand people were killed during the overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu's regime, there were no armed clashes anywhere. And we are talking about a region where there was a colossal accumulation of both hatred and weapons of all kinds at the time.

Meanwhile, the system just came apart at the seams. At first it seemed that the authorities would be able to control the changes, but everything quickly disintegrated.

Looking back from the perspective of 30 years, do you think that the Polish road to political transformation was the best possible one? Could something have been done better?

I think everything went perfectly. Thirty years ago there was a lot of talk about other scenarios of change, some "third way" of Poland's development. If we had followed such voices, today we would be at the level of countries like Ukraine. We would be faced with problems that we resolved during the first few years of transformation. And it was possible only then, with the colossal credit of trust that we received from society.

The standard of living in Poland fell by almost 30 percent in the first years of the economic "shock therapy," yet the reforms were continued and yielded final positive results.

We had one more huge advantage that is worth emphasizing. In Poland, we had time to educate a non-communist elite which later carried out our reforms. No other country had that; during 10 years of struggle, a large group of experts was formed in all the areas needed for a modern country to function. In other countries of the former Soviet Bloc, in Russia itself and in the former Soviet republics, reforms were introduced either by former communist officers or, at best, by former activists of the local Komsomol [the All-Union Lenin Communist Youth Union - a youth organization being the backbone of the CPSU].

Of course, more could have been done. When guests from other countries, such as Ukraine, asked me 15 years ago what to do first, I always answered: "everything." What is not changed immediately, will be difficult to reform later. In Poland, this is the situation in the healthcare system: since it was not changed then, it is still in bad condition. We keep trying to change things, but we are still battling against all the same problems. It is a pity that Alina [Pieƒkowska, died in 2002] did not manage to deal with these things in time. She had the knowledge, a team, and enthusiasm. But that's history now.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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8

Times of Choices –

A Lot of Trouble Professor Rados∏aw Markowski, a political scientist from the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, talks to Witold ˚ygulski: The elections to the European Parliament on May 26 brought a very surprising result in Poland; neither earlier surveys nor exit polls anticipated such a clear victory of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party over the united opposition. How do you interpret this situation?

First of all, let us clarify one thing: Who wins elections is not judged by what support they receive, but by how many MPs they bring into the winning coalition in a given parliament. Poland sends 51 representatives to the European Parliament. Some of them will be sent to majority party groups that will reform the EU, others to smaller factions that may be loud but have practically no influence over the course of Community affairs. They will sit somewhere in the back benches of the European Parliament, and from time to time will only be able to shout from the pulpit. In Poland the greatest popular support has been won by the PiS party, but in the European Parliament it is the European Coalition and the Wiosna (Spring) party, because it is the representatives of these parties who will join the majority faction that will now jointly with other mainstream European parties consider how to restructure the EU and what paths it should follow in the coming years and decades.

Yes, the election results in Poland, or 1/28 of the European Union, come as a bit of a surprise. How this happened we do not know yet, research is still being carried out. I must admit that my vision of the electoral behavior of Poles is disturbed by the image of inhabitants of the Polish countryside going to the polling stations after dark [the votes cast in the last hours of the elections in rural areas were, according to preliminary estimates, supposed to determine the success of the PiS party]. Maybe that's how the lifestyle in the country has changed, maybe the reasons are different, we don't know yet. For opinion polls, this is certainly a strong signal of the need for a more in-depth analysis of the provincial electorate’s behavior.

As a political scientist and head of the Polish National Election Study [a research project that has been carried out for years and analyzes elections], I cannot give a reliable answer today to the question of where an increase in support for the party that has been in power since 2015 came from. There are though a few hypotheses.

Of course, it is easy to point to the clientelism of the PiS party: In the days immediately before May 26, pensioners received their 13th pension of PLN 1,100 each, so one could expect they would vote for those who deliver, to mention just one example.

According to another theory, all those who recently kept criticizing the Catholic Church did the opposition more harm than good, because people moved to defend their beloved priests and decided to use the ballot box to oppose all those freaks from the city who slander the clergy. I don't believe in this interpretation.

Generally speaking, modernization trends were supposedly badly received by the conservative electorate in small towns. Their inhabitants defend what they are familiar with: the family model, the relationship between the state and the church, and so on. This hypothesis ought yet to be verified.

On the other hand, I think it was a very far-fetched hypothesis of some prominent PiS party activists that the poor result of the European Coalition was, among other things, the result of head of the European Council Donald Tusk getting involved in the election campaign. If it were the case, as Adam Bielan said, that every speech by Tusk brings the PiS party new votes, no one from that party would say a word about it. On the contrary, I think that Tusk's words spoken in Poland during the election campaign could have had a mobilizing effect on supporters of the European Coalition.

Look at the numbers: If we take the result of the European Coalition, namely over 38 percent of votes, I am convinced that if someone had offered them such a result a few months before the elections, the proposal would have been accepted without hesitation. Therefore this is not a great failure, although it could seem so in the context of the PiS party’s result.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

VOICE - POLITICS & SOCIETY The Coalition’s failure can be explained very simply: Many of the candidates were not sufficiently active in the campaign. I'm not just talking about the less well-known ones. W∏odzimierz Cimoszewicz [former prime minister and minister of justice in leftwing governments of the 1990s], running in Warsaw from place number one on the list, did not have a campaign in the capital at all. He won, but with a rather poor result; it is easy to imagine what would have happened if he had traveled around and spoken to people, actively seeking votes. But he did not.

The second reason for losing, for which I would blame the European Coalition’s campaign leaders, is that they rested on their laurels as soon as they managed to build a coalition. In fact that was the moment when they should have gone among voters and explained the supposed contradictions between the parties forming the European Coalition; supposed, because it is precisely in the European elections that they are not as important as they could have been in a coalition that would be dealing with domestic, national affairs. They should have explained that in the EP the representatives of the Polish People's Party (PSL) will take care of the common agricultural policy, Green party representatives will pursue environmental issues, and so on. There were too few such explanations.

The PiS party competed in the European elections as if these were national elections, elections to the Polish parliament. They tried to frighten people with the liberals, saying they would come and take away all welfare benefits; they promised to cut off the hands of anyone aiming a blow at the holy Catholic Church; they spoke of Jews who would allegedly claim Polish-owned real estate, of LGBT activists who would destroy the family and lead to the adoption of children by perverts. In short, they said almost nothing about the European Parliament.

In that case, what changes in the strategies of the various groups will take place in the campaign before the parliamentary elections in the fall?

If anyone tells you what they will be, do not believe them. There are more questions than answers. Voters in the European elections usually differed slightly from those who voted in the national elections. European political science has the term "second order elections" which describes elections of lesser importance. This time, however, paradoxically, the EP elections were not like that - there Summary of the results of Poland's 26 May election to the European Parliament Law and Justice (PiS) - 45,38%, 27 seats European Coalition (KE) - 38,47%, 22 seats Wiosna - 6,06%, 3 seats Confederation - 4,55%, 0 seats Kukiz15 - 3,69%, 0 seats Left Together - 1,24%, 0 seats Voter turnout - 45,68% Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

9 was a big mobilization of the electorate everywhere in Europe.

We do not yet know who was really mobilized in Poland. We know that young people did not go to the polls, but this is nothing new.

The second unknown is the future of the European Coalition itself. The PSL is already turning its nose up, announcing the possibility of running on their own or setting up some new political entity. Perhaps other, center-liberal-conservative or left-wing alliances will be formed. Robert Biedroƒ, the leader of the Spring party, has certainly a lot to think about: His result turned out to be fairly poor, the advantage of being new on the political scene did not work. In the EP elections, where issues such as environmental protection, human rights, equal rights for women and minorities are important, he had the issues handed to him on a platter, and yet his party’s result was barely above the electoral threshold. He might not manage that again in the fall, so he faces a real dilemma what next. As for Adrian Zandberg's radical-left party Left Together, asking about his participation in any coalition made sense when he enjoyed 3-4-percent support. Today it is down to about 1 percent and it is high time to decide whether it makes sense for the party to continue. The paltry few hundred thousand votes he once had have almost completely disappeared.

What will change in the EU itself after the new distribution of EP seats?

Before May 26, many people in Europe expected an earthquake to occur. They thought that Euroskeptics and nationalist movements would win in many member states and would be able to blow up the EU from within, in its institutions, that their representatives would drive like hussars into Brussels, winning at least one third of EP seats. Nothing like that happened, they got about 21-22 percent altogether. Besides, it is worth noting that this group is very diverse; there are radical left-wingers or equally radical Greens who will never go together with Matteo Salvini, Viktor Orban or Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski. And outside Italy, Hungary and Poland, the anti-European forces have either suffered a major defeat, as in the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, most of Scandinavia and Romania, or have lost to their main rivals. It is said that in France the winner was Marine Le Pen; yes, her party was less than 1 percent better than Emmanuel Macron’s, it got its 20 percent, but the remaining 80 percent was taken by rivals who were mostly in favor of the European Community and its values.

Beyond Poland's western border, the Alternative for Germany did not achieve anything, in Austria - also because of the vice chancellor's scandal - the right wing did not succeed, either.

Portugal has no Euroskeptics, and the Greeks have come to their senses, too. Apart from the obvious success of Orban, which was predictable, the success of Salvini and Kaczyƒski, none of the anti-European forecasts came true.

What does that mean? The peoples’ party family [EPP], along with the socialists and liberals, and perhaps also the Greens - the latter two groups having been very successful in the European elections - will decide what rules apply in the European Union.

Everyone else will be sitting in the back rows, criticizing and moaning quietly, trying to assemble ad hoc coalitions to oppose something. However, all this will have no meaning whatsoever.

Returning to our domestic backyard, we might be able to count on the more enlightened part of the PiS electorate noticing that the party’s representatives in Europe cannot do anything, being on a collision course with all that Europe is striving for. If the European

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10 Coalition is willing and able systematically to show in its campaign before the fall elections that we have de facto wasted 27 MEPs, that we do not have them in the most important European debates, then perhaps it will lessen the gap.

What counter-arguments do you think PiS will use?

The ruling party will do what it's been doing for a long time.

Using huge financial resources from state-owned companies, it will commission and respond to focus group studies of the public mood, turning their attention to those voicing some need or other.

We are already hearing about the need to raise the minimum wage, and it is also likely that some state aid will be offered to people with Swiss franc-denominated mortgage debts. For four years now we have been dealing with what I call authoritarian clientelism in Poland. This is certainly not going to change, it is more likely to intensify.

Unfortunately this system also involves completely abandoning research and development or innovation investments. We have many talented people in Poland, but the system works so badly that the creators of innovative ideas sooner or later take to their heels and implement their projects in Sweden, Britain or the United States.

I don't need to mention the state of the health service. For the second year in a row, in Poland we have a surprisingly high mortality rate that cannot be attributed to demographic factors. We have an increase in alcohol consumption, an increase in the number of suicides, especially among young people, and an increase in the number of road accidents. For the first time since the beginning of the political transformation, the life expectancy of Poles is decreasing.

In the campaign before the fall elections, the PiS party will also continue to frighten citizens. I’m not sure whether the standard story about Jews coming to take property away from Poles will still be dominant, or whether new enemies will appear, for example Islamists who will come to rape and kill our women. I observe fear of Islam every day in my students; in one of my lectures I told them I do not know of statistics showing that Polish women are being mass murdered with Middle Eastern daggers, but I am familiar with those, for example, showing the number of victims of exemplary Polish Catholics who drive drunk and cause fatal accidents.

This government loves to boost public anxiety, frighten people, usually with illusions like the threat of a Russian invasion, Polish land being bought up by foreigners, gender “ideology” and people with different life-style or sex preferences. Perhaps this purpose will be served by further raking up of the Smolensk crash [in which 96 people, most of them from the world of politics and culture, including President Lech Kaczyƒski, died on board the presidential plane in Russia in April 2010]. Just recently we heard that the Polish authorities do not like the plaque that has been placed at the site of the tragedy, informing about the causes of the crash on the basis of reports from both the Russian and Polish commissions. We know that the pilots of the Polish presidential plane were responsible for landing in terrible conditions, and were also under pressure from VIP passengers. According to existing recordings, 14 voices were heard in the plane’s cockpit, not all of them have been identified. In the face of such evidence, someone wants to convince the public that the air force commander-in-chief, General Andrzej B∏asik, did not suggest anything to the pilots, but

instead was sitting quietly somewhere in the back rows of the plane. This is completely absurd, but it could be brought up again, especially as the declarations of the PiS party from four years ago about the rapid return of the Tu-154M presidential plane’s wreckage to Poland turned out to be empty words.

Therefore, we can expect further revelations about bombs, the plane having been shot down, injured passengers having been killed off on the ground, and so on.

I am not in favor of punishing politicians for their wrong decisions or failed attempts at reform. But they should be punished for lying about objective facts. Some very interesting, groundbreaking news came from London recently. Boris Johnson is to be brought to justice for lying about official statistics. In Poland, senior state officials lie with impunity when they talk about publicly available statistical data, such as the aforementioned increase in mortality among Poles, the EU’s real contribution to Poland’s development and many other facts, and nothing is happening to them for it.

In the May 26 elections, parties representing extreme, anti-system views lost, but obtained results only slightly below the electoral threshold; do parties such as Kukiz15, which is currently in the parliament, or the newly formed radical right-wing Confederation have a chance in the fall elections?

Such ephemera are difficult to evaluate because in the groups that are surveyed, the number of people voting for them is usually a few or a dozen or so. This makes it impossible to judge who they are and why they vote the way they do. Exit polls only indicated that young people voted for radicals, but this is nothing new because an electorate entering adult life usually looks to “cause a stir” in politics. There is no major difference between Kukiz15 and the Confederation. If these parties had joined forces, they would probably have crossed the electoral threshold. The problem in both cases is that these groups do not have local structures, they run their campaigns via the Internet or central media.

The classic political science definition of a political party assumes it is a political group that should participate in exercising power from time to time. That is not the case with these small, radical parties. At one time in Poland, the right-wing Confederation of Independent Poland was such a force. It did not enter into any alliances or governing coalitions. There was also the left-wing Labor Union, which was very sensible in terms of its program and had many experienced and professional activists with recognized authority. Now we have parties such as Kukiz15, which entered the political scene with humorous announcements of a new order and the demolition of old arrangements. Four years later, people look and see that nothing has changed. They are disappointed and either vote for someone else or, most often, stay home. Even worse is the situation of the orthodox left Together of Adrian Zandberg, who has to face up to the fact that his political idea did not work.

Is there any real left wing in Poland today? Its previous groups either blend into larger coalitions, not necessarily left-wing ones, or obtain results around the margin of statistical error, completely different from the rest of Europe.

If we look at the statistics, there are about 40 percent of people with left-wing economic views in Poland. On the left-hand side of the political scene in Poland, we are dealing with a catastrophe of leadership and a catastrophe of ideas. It’s difficult to say what's going on. We have no Green parties, so the left could easily take over environmental-sensitive electorate. We are Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

VOICE - POLITICS & SOCIETY a country where tens of thousands of people each year are dying of pollution-related factors, we experience environmental damages of all kinds, and we have a governing party that guarantees us it will continue to poison us with coal as the primary energy source until the end of the century. This is a gift for the left wing. Modern education is lacking. We have a Catholic Church that is medieval in form, considers itself to be the depositary of the revealed truth and disregards all other human laws.

Disrespect for women and the unavailability (to them) of civilized medical procedures, are other topics that the left is getting handed on a platter. Public transport, which has always been one of the issues raised by the left, also leaves much to be desired in Poland. We live in Warsaw, a city with three times more cars per capita than Berlin. There are no green waves like Budapest has. In the global crisis of capitalism, which is truly cruel to human dignity, I wonder what else it would take for the left to exist and to win at least 30-percent support in this country with its medieval church, its underdeveloped insfrastructure and its ecological ruin. Instead, we have the red or yellow sweater [the clothing trademark of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) leader] of W∏odzimierz Czarzasty, who has no idea how to take advantage of the potential offered by the above issues. It all started earlier, in 2015 when Leszek Miller [former leader of the SLD, recently elected to the European Parliament from the European Coalition’s list] invented Ms. Magdalena Ogórek [a historian by education, later a journalist, today one of the mouthpieces for government propaganda on TVP public television] as the party’s candidate in the presidential election. People from the left wing simply gave up, because the boundaries of ridicule and absurdity had been overstepped.

Speaking of leadership, do you think that before the fall elections we will see new faces, new leaders, new locomotives of individual parties?

Beata Szyd∏o [prime minister in 2015-2017] turned out to be such a locomotive for the PiS party. I know that the electorate should not be criticized, but I find it difficult to understand how more than half a million Poles felt she was the best person to represent their country in the European Parliament. Of course you can speak in your national language in the EP, but to get anything done there, to convince anyone to do something during unofficial or less formal meetings over coffee or wine, you have to be fluent in - preferably several - languages. How can a politician who does not know any European language other than Polish function in this? It is like sending someone with a structural inability to express themselves to the Polish parliament. In a parliament - as the very name suggests - elected representatives present their arguments by speaking. After a rudimentary foreign language course you can be an MEP’s driver, but an MEP - not so much.

In the history of recent years, we have already had a situation when the Polish president and prime minister [brothers Lech and Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski] had similar parameters. Poland’s current "commandant" [Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski] speaks no foreign language, does not have a driver’s license, could not operate a computer, finds an ATM a challenge, and considers a bank account to be a suspicious institution... To be clear, all the abovementioned deficits are acceptable in the average Pole.

However, when they come together in the leader of a 40-million-strong European country, it is a completely different matter, and I think it is important to talk about it. This is simply a lack of Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

11 Former PM and opposition party Civic Platform (PO) member Ewa Kopacz was elected as deputy head of the European Parliament with 461 votes in favor of her candidacy.

Ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) candidate Prof. Zdzis∏aw Krasnod´bski failed to convince MEPs, getting only 85 votes in favor. qualifications that prevents a high-ranking politician from finding his way around today’s world.

The issue of leadership in the Civic Platform (PO), and thus in the European Coalition, looks very delicate. If any large European party’s leader had such a poor record as Grzegorz Schetyna [one of the worst results in polls examining confidence in politicians], the party would immediately thank him for his work and remove him from office, or at least get him to remove himself from the front line. Personally, I think he does not deserve such a negative opinion. Remember that a few years ago, when he was marginalized by then PO leader Donald Tusk, deprived of his portfolio as deputy prime minister and minister of the interior and sidelined, he behaved very maturely. He was one of few Polish politicians, if not the only one, who did not rebel, did not found any new party, did not start hurling abuse at his colleagues, only stayed on the sidelines for a few years and then returned to the top. Forming the European Coalition was certainly his success. Of course there are things to criticize him for, but he does not deserve such low ratings in the polls. With his cunning and political maneuvering skills, he will probably survive until the fall elections, unfortunately to the detriment of the “whatever coalition’s” result.

To put it brutally: Even if people’s negative assessment of him is undeserved, it is just the way it is; it is a social and political fact with consequences.

The position of W∏adys∏aw Kosiniak-Kamysz as the leader of the PSL seems to be undeniable. I believe that he can only lose his post if there is a severe defeat in the parliamentary elections. So far, he has endured criticism and is trying some political maneuvering while at the same time demonstrating a clear fear of losing the Church’s support. He is one of those people who, as a consequence of their upbringing, are afraid of this institution and are unable to face the pathologies that occur in it. Instead of reacting sharply to this state of affairs, he tucked his tail between his legs and set off on a tour of Poland, arguing that the greatest threat to the European Coalition is the prospective membership in it of Robert Biedron's Spring party with its alleged scandalous views that violate Polish traditions and customs.

The most important issue, however, is the leadership of the PO. If the party wanted to replace Schetyna, the question is who with?

At the moment I see no other option than to return to the times of [former prime minister] Ewa Kopacz, but she has become a Member of the European Parliament. However, if she returned, Micha∏ Kamiƒski [a former long-time PiS activist and spin doctor of right-wing electoral campaigns] would be visible behind her back again, which would infuriate part of the PO electorate once more. So we're in trouble, a lot of trouble.

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Pharmaceutical Sector in Poland

No Development Mode The Polish pharmaceutical industry generates 1.33% percent of the Gross Domestic Product. It is also one of the most innovative sectors of the economy. According to GUS (Central Statistical Office) data, every second company in this sector invested in research and development or launched production of a new product in the years 2014-2016.

P

oland is an exporter of generic drugs, usually technologically improved, to both European and Eastern markets as well as to developing countries.

However, it does not fully exploit the potential of this industry. Pharmaceutical companies located in Poland, both those belonging to international concerns and those set up by local capital, for several years have been unanimously demanding that the government introduce a system that will encourage them to invest in the production of medicines in Poland. These efforts have been ineffective so far, despite the fact that the prime minister of the current government and its ministers have been saying in official speeches for over three years that they also see an urgent need to support Polish pharmaceutical producers.

In 2016 the Ministry of Health even drafted new regulations to stimulate the development of pharmaceutical production in Poland, offering local producers better conditions for operating on the Polish market than companies that only export products manufactured in third countries to Poland. The Reimbursement Mode for Development (RMD), as the

project is known, has never made it high enough to become law, despite all the official support of the industry and, of course, the ministry, and the general support of the prime minister. The reasons for this failure are not public knowledge. The supporters of the project are willing to see it as a result of lobbying, the authors of which they place outside Poland. The pharmaceutical industry, like the defense industry, focuses the attention of many governments, and international producers exporting to Poland are not interested in the success of the RMD project.

"Polish pharmaceutical companies produce generic drugs that meet the basic health needs of Europeans as well as being characterized by a modern form of administration or a combination of several molecules," says Krzysztof Kopeç, president of the Polish Association of Pharmaceutical Industry Employers (PZPPF).

"These include improved generic drugs and drugs that are difficult to produce. Few generic producers in Europe specialize in the production of the latter. With proper collaboration between Polish companies and the government, Poland could become their global supplier," said Barbara Misiewicz-Jagielak, vice president of the PZPPF. It is also not without significance that the production of medicines in Poland increases Polish patients’ sense of safety, which is confirmed by opinion polls.

It seems, therefore, that everyone in Poland is in favor of stimulating the development of the pharmaceutical industry. European Union legislation is also not an obstacle. Incentive schemes, usually tax incentives, have been successfully operating in other European countries. A report published in April by IQVIA analyzes Spanish and Belgian solutions in this respect, indicating their positive impact on the development of the pharmaceutical industry in these countries.

According to the authors of the report, for Poland to catch up in terms of medicine export value with countries such as France, Germany or Switzerland, requires many years of systematic support for domestic pharmaceutical companies, but it is not impossible. The Polish Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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economy has great potential, and the pharmaceutical industry is at a high technological level and has great specialists at its disposal. So far. Unofficially, representatives of key companies declare that the lack of an appropriate system of incentives will soon result in their corporations' investments no longer reaching Poland. Other European and non-European markets will prove to be more advantageous.

Such a prospect must be worrying. No wonder Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in April ordered a return to work on a draft of regulations supporting Polish drug manufacturers. The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology is currently responsible for their preparation. It is headed by a dynamic manager and long-term collaborator of the current prime minister, Jadwiga Emilewicz. Already at the beginning of May, she declared that the government was determined to introduce the Reimbursement Mode for Development during this

parliamentary term, i.e. before the fall elections.

During the meeting of the parliamentary team for supporting entrepreneurship and economic patriotism, Emilewicz presented the preliminary assumptions of the new RMD project. In her opinion, work on the regulations is taking a long time because they concern a budget equal to Poland’s defense spending. Therefore, each transfer requires in-depth analysis.

The project presented in the outline seems to be quite complicated. The main objectives of the new legislation are to support the country's drug security and R&D, to ensure the long-term sustainability of the drug reimbursement system and to guarantee the security of public finances. The beneficiaries are to be capital groups involved in the development of the industry in Poland. They will fall into three categories: A, B, C. Both foreign and domestic entities will be able to apply for the status of Partner of

Krzysztof Kopeç, president of the Polish Association of Pharmaceutical Industry Employers (PZPPF)

Barbara Misiewicz-Jagielak, vice president of the PZPPF

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the Polish Economy. The evaluation system, based on quantitative measures, will each year select partners whose evaluation will consider the previous five years.

The main elements of company evaluation are: investments in fixed assets and production, investments in human capital and competences, investments in research and technology development, and investments in data. Approval of a given company will take the form of an administrative decision.

Belonging to group C will not be associated with benefits, but only with receiving the title of Partner of the Polish Economy. The RMD provides 10 benefits, including financial ones, such as the RMD bonus, and non-financial ones, such as the time within which a decision on including a given medicine on the list of reimbursed drugs from the National Health Fund budget will be issued.

Already during the conference at which the project was presented, a representatives of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology indicated that the introduction of new regulations also depends on the position of the Ministry of Health. The supporters of the RMD consider this ministry to be uninterested in changes that could increase the cost of drug reimbursement in the short term.

Nearly two months after the presentation of the project guidelines, nothing further is known regarding the urgent consultations with manufacturers that were announced at the time, while much, unofficially, is being said about the critical attitude toward the project at the Ministry of Health and the possibility that the project will be halted.

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Pharmaceutical Sector in Poland

Obstructed Flywheel of the Economy Krzysztof ¸anda, former undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Health, originator of draft regulations on the Reimbursement Mode for Development (RMD) from 2016, talks to the Voice’s Juliusz K∏osowski: We are having this conversation in late June 2019. In your opinion, what are the chances that the RMD regulations will be adopted soon?

In my opinion, nothing important in this matter will happen before the elections [Poland’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for this October – Voice]. The draft, which was prepared in May at the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology, as I heard, ended up in the trash. It had too many weak points and did not sufficiently distinguish between friends of the Polish economy who invest in the pharmaceutical industry in Poland and those who only export money from here. As a consequence, the draft was considered to be impossible to implement. One might venture the hypothesis that someone involved in working on the draft at the ministry either is completely incompetent or is intentionally delaying the introduction of solutions that

favor the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Poland.

But a draft RMD already emerged once before, a few years ago. You were its originator and co-author.

In 2016 we prepared such a draft in the spring. It went through a lot of consultations. At the time, the RMD issue was part of a bill for large amendment of the law on reimbursement of medicines, which has not yet been passed either.

Your draft, however, was a separate whole. Why, in your opinion, has it been hidden away in a drawer and other versions are being produced, at another ministry?

I do not understand it at all, because the RMD is mentioned explicitly in the Strategy for Responsible Development [the Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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strategic plan for Poland's development announced in February 2017, endorsed by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his government – Voice]. It is also featured explicitly in the government document defining the state's drug policy. As I have already mentioned, it was also part of, and is mentioned in, the bill for large amendment of the reimbursement of medicines. More than three years after it was drawn up, why isn’t it being implemented? I cannot say, but I don't think it is someone else's incapacity. We should ask Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz why the ministry has not been able to implement new regulations that will encourage investment in the development of the Polish pharmaceutical industry for so long. Meanwhile, earlier, in 2017 and 2018, there were clear declarations and deadlines for the introduction of new solutions. None of them, as we know, have been compromised. The departments and ministries concerned are unable to agree on the regulations. I don't know how that is possible. I remember that during my work at the Ministry of Health, then Minister of Development Mateusz Morawiecki [now the prime minister – Voice], visited us. He said that, first of all, the “going alone” principle must be fought against, i.e. close cooperation between ministries should be the new rule, and, secondly, that he would like the money that the state budget spends on reimbursement of medicines [currently about PLN 12 billion – Voice] not only to work for the benefit of Polish people’s health but also to contribute to the development of the economy. Hence the RMD draft. It was directly inspired by Poland’s current prime minister.

Does that draft resemble the current one?

Back then we proposed much simpler evaluation criteria, clearly promoting entities investing in Poland, paying taxes here, employing local workers, contributing to the development of drug exports from Poland, and carrying out research and development projects in Poland. These criteria would make it easy to distinguish between partners of the Polish economy and those entrepreneurs who merely import medicines, export money and do not contribute to Poland’s development. The benefits of meeting these criteria were also precisely defined by the first draft. I do not understand why there has been a delay of many years in introducing the new rules, especially when even an imperfect RMD would be better than no RMD. Why do you think so?

At present, pharmaceutical companies see no reason to invest, hire employees or conduct research in Poland. There are no specific advantages for them as there is no incentive system. On the contrary, the current provisions of the law on reimbursement of medicines are designed in such a way Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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that businesses involved in Poland are even worse off than those that have invested in production, for example, in markets where workers are cheaper or where there is a system of incentives in place that Poland does not have. Therefore, any incentive system would be better than no incentive system, because it would improve the situation.

So why, in your opinion, have these regulations not come into force for so long?

Let us try to look at the international aspect. If the RMD came into force and pharmaceutical investors gained reasons to develop their business in Poland, who would lose out? I do not want to point to specific countries, but it is clear that it would not be in the interests of those countries that have long been pursuing a deliberate policy of developing the pharmaceutical sector, treating it as a flywheel for their economies. Such a policy should be pursued by Poland as well. Meanwhile, in Polish politics there is still a stereotype that the medical sector is primarily a cost. In reality, though, it is big business, a potentially powerful driving force for the economy.

85%

of Poles believe that the government should support the development of the pharmaceutical industry, because the production of medicines in Poland is a guarantee of health security.

80%

of Poles believe that the development of the pharmaceutical industry is associated with the creation of new jobs, progress in medicine and other fields of science, as well as GDP and state income growth.

64%

of Poles would feel safer if the majority of medicines available in pharmacies were produced in Poland.

Public opinion poll commissioned by PZPPF, April 2019

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Why Georgia Matters Tedo Japaridze, former Georgian foreign minister, ambassador of Georgia to Washington and national security advisor, talks to Ilya Roubanis: You are considered one of the foremost opinion leaders in Georgian-American relations. Can you describe the process of transformation from a Soviet citizen to a Georgian statesman with Euro-Atlantic convictions?

I do not shape opinion but I influence it with my views, sometimes successfully. This influence was earned by taking part in certain positive developments for Georgia, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the Georgian Train & Equip Program, which was the first brick in the bridge we call Georgian-American relations.

Growing up in the Soviet Union, the forbidden fruit of the so-called “capitalist world” crept into my childhood mind through literature. As a student of the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies in Moscow, I read some books by people I would later meet in person, including Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski, that added an intellectual aura to the superpower on the other side.

For my generation, the United States was a land of creativity or, to borrow President Ronald Reagan’s words, “a shining city upon the hill.” Later, as ambassador of the newly independent Republic of Georgia to Washington, I had the opportunity to meet the country and the people that had excited my childhood imagination and captured my adult intellect. That reality did not take away the luster of my imagination. However, the encounter was not without some disappointment. Beyond Atlanta, Georgia, my own “Georgia” was “somewhere close to Russia” and clearly unknown to most Americans. My main mission was building a relationship in which Georgia’s significance to the United States (and Europe) would not be reduced to a side story of the more significant relation with Russia. That is still my mission.

Would you say you are a statesman?

When this kind of question is posed to me, the famous crack of Groucho Marx comes to my mind: “A statesman is

TEDO JAPARIDZE (73) is a Georgian diplomat and politician. He graduated from the Department of Western European Languages and Literature at Tbilisi State University in 1971, worked there until 1974, then studied and worked at the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies of the Soviet Academy of Sciences from 1974 to 1989. Returning to Georgia, he worked for the Foreign Ministry of Georgia and was appointed deputy foreign minister in August 1991. He served as deputy chair of the National Security Council from November 1992 to June 1994, and as Georgia’s ambassador to the United States, Canada and Mexico from July 1994 to March 2002. From March 13, 2002 to November 30, 2003, he chaired the National Security Council of Georgia.

After the Rose Revolution (2003), Japaridze served as foreign minister in the new government. In March 2004 he became secretary-general of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. He also worked as president of the U.S.-Caucasus Institute in Tbilisi.

In 2011, Japaridze was dismissed from the Georgian diplomatic service. He then joined the ranks of the opposition Georgian Dream party founded by tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili. He was elected to the parliament and became chairman of the parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs on October 21, 2012.

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a dead politician. Long live the statesman!” I am a diplomat even when I am not a diplomat. My dream is to see people on Polish TV talking about Georgia as a European country without blinking. No “ifs,” no “buts,” no “post,” no “transitional” qualifications. Just saying it, without hesitation, in one breath. When that happens, my life’s objective will be fulfilled.

I remember my first lunch as Georgia’s ambassador to Washington, D.C., with Ted Ferguson, the vice president of the Brown & Root energy company in December 1994.

Our meeting took place right after a Republican landslide victory in the U.S. Congress, which landed Newt Gingrich as one of the most powerful speakers of the House of Representatives in U.S. history. Over lunch, Ferguson told me that his wife happened to be the staunchest of democrats from Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to the meeting, she had asked her husband about his plans for the day, only to find out that he was having lunch with the Georgian ambassador. Upon hearing this, she furiously exclaimed: “Look at Gingrich! He’s already appointed his own ambassador to Washington, D.C.!”

This story has stayed with me for two reasons. Firstly, because it is telling of U.S. public opinion which, like all public opinion, has a limited horizon. We have 195 UN member states around the world. Back then, Georgia was to Americans what Tuvalu was to Georgians. Secondly, the discussion with Ted Ferguson revolved around oil and pipelines, linking the Caspian Basin to Europe. Energy placed Georgia on Washington’s mental map because it was a game that was relevant and was understood in circles beyond the Washington bubble. That is why pipelines became one of the pillars in the foundation of the 2009 Georgian-American Strategic Partnership. This was not about the United States playing a “transactional role” in the Caucasus. This was about a democratic system, with legitimate political actors, who need to explain to their constituents why “Georgia the country” matters. As a veteran Georgian diplomat, I have made it my job to make the “why Georgia matters” story easier to tell, although I was not always successful in this task. To this day this is my mission as a statesman.

Is it a big leap from diplomacy to business?

It depends on the kind of diplomat you are and the kind of businessman you are.

I have spent the best part of my life in the service of Georgia and I expected to end my professional career in Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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that capacity, but life has its turns and zigzags in store for everyone. I was no exception. So, as we say, “what I do is who I am.” Today I am engaged in Anaklia because it places Georgia on the global map of trade and logistics.

This is the biggest greenfield investment project that has ever taken place not only in our country but in our region.

Plainly speaking, this is a “look at the map project”: squeezed between Russia, Turkey and the Caspian Sea. You have to understand that the eastern shores of the Black Sea are mostly shallow. Since the construction of the Crimean Bridge, a “beautiful” example of Russian engineering, which boxed out international shipping from the Sea of Azov because big vessels cannot pass under it, one wonders whether it was a calculated move or a simple “mistake.” Anaklia will be the only non-Russian deep seaport able to host Panamax and post-Panamax vessels east of the Bosphorus. This 16-meter deep seaport opens Georgia, the Caucasus, Anatolia, northern Iran, and Central Asia to international shipping.

The bottom line: Georgia becomes instrumental to its neighbors, especially Turkey and Azerbaijan.

We are a mountainous country surrounded by big neighbors, like Switzerland. I think becoming instrumental to our neighbors, like Switzerland did, is a good recipe for survival. At least, it works for the Swiss, although we understand that our part of the world is slightly different from the Alps, historically and politically.

Why should Poles care about Anaklia?

Warsaw has a different perspective on Europe and one that is friendlier to Georgia. We are grateful to Poland and Sweden for envisioning and sponsoring the Eastern Partnership format. Poland has two reasons to renew its commitment to Georgia.

First, if you look at the Trimarium concept, historically envisioned by prewar Polish leader Marshal Józef Pi∏sudski, you will see that it is underpinned by a practical geo-economic narrative. Generals are practical people and much of their thinking is actually driven by logistic considerations.

From an economic perspective, Poland is indeed located as the Intermarium, that is, the land between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas, via a series of strategic interconnection projects. In this picture, Anaklia is the missing link.

From Warsaw, you can look to deep seaports across the western coastline of the Black Sea: Varna, Constanta, Odessa… Across, there is only one place of this kind: Anaklia.

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Secondly, Georgia offers Polish and EU exporters the kind of “software” that is invaluable in a climate of international political turbulence. Along with Switzerland, Georgia is the only country in Europe that has a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU but also a Free Trade Agreement with China, the CIS and Turkey.

There is also a less practical reason.

Like Poland, we are committed to a Euro-Atlantic trajectory. We are committed to the process as much as the destination. We are committed to a community that shares economic and political values. And we are committed to EU and NATO membership. Commitment is not just words: Everyone from Warsaw to Brussels knows we are frontrunners in reforms and an outlier in critical governance indicators. But until we become full members of the Euro-Atlantic community, we need to survive.

Like Poland, Georgia knows that if you live in a land between empires, your choices are limited: You must be too hard to chew or too instrumental to destroy. I would prefer Georgia to be as instrumental as possible, to everyone, including the toughest neighbor, but without conceding its strategic agenda, which is Georgia’s independence and sovereignty. We need to stand firmly on our own two feet and make our own sovereign decisions without hampering the interests of others. Anaklia contributes to this narrative. Ten years from now, I want everyone around us to say “if Georgia did not exist, we would have to invent it.”

Every country in the Eastern Partnership except Belarus has to deal with an occupied territory: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine. Does Anaklia being on the doorstep of Abkhazia pose a danger?

Well, Georgia needs to refocus its attention from its relationship with Abkhazia as a Russian puppet regime and cultivate a relationship with Abkhazians. Abkhazia is not only a piece of Georgia’s historical territory. It is also the scene of a centuries-long relationship and cohabitation with our Abkhaz sisters and brothers. We need to deal with the past, face the skeletons in our closet, but above all create a viable future, together. Georgia has made bold steps to open its social services, universities, minds and hearts to the citizens of Abkhazia and, of course, Ossetia. And I can see no reason why Anaklia could not be a place where several thousand of them can work. We intend to build a whole city. I am convinced we can build a future inclusive of the citizens of Abkhazia. I am not afraid. I am excited at the prospects before us.

And there is a flip side to the fear one may have toward the Russians. Each of the occupied territories you refer to is a loss-making operation. High unemployment, subsidized energy, loss-making industries, absolute poverty. Georgia is thriving and, ultimately, it is in the interest of Russia to be surrounded by economically vibrant countries with social cohesion. The alternative is failed states in a region full of weapons, which would undermine Russia’s own security paradigm.

Georgia has built a reputation as a place easy to do business. Is it?

Doing business is never easy. It entails risk, hard work, and effective planning.

Georgia is a good place because we try to take away much of the hustle in doing business. We are low on taxation and red tape and high on transparency. And we are steadfast on the rule of law. Did I mention a good climate and a world-class gastronomic culture? Anaklia has a series of additional benefits as an industrial zone, not least a provision for English-language dispute settlement tribunals and a constitutionally guaranteed zero-tax regime. Make no mistake: Georgia will do whatever it takes to create new manufacturing and logistics value chains. Anaklia is our new “Gdynia” [Gdynia city and port was built between the wars to give Poland logistic access to the Baltic Sea – The Warsaw Voice]. To answer your question, business is never easy anywhere. But Georgia makes it easier.

Is Anaklia an Asian or a European port?

There is an old Norwegian proverb: Land divides, sea unites.

The mountainous region of the Caucasus is rich in languages as it is rich in valleys. It is the sea that unites us with Europe.

For centuries, we were the door of Christianity, Chinese silk, tea, and our own-grown wine to Europe. But we were also the dragomans of Europe making their way toward Central Asia and the Far East. We were never just a door, we were also Europe’s guides to Asia. Anaklia could be something similar.

The city around Anaklia has a constitutionally guaranteed status ensuring a zero-corporate tax regime, an English-language arbitration tribunal, privileged customs access, and world-class infrastructure. We offer not just a door to Asia, but a deeper kind of access. In this sense, Anaklia is a model for what Georgia should be.

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Polish-American Market Opportunities There are over 9 million people in the United States who declare Polish descent. The main Polish community centers are located in the vicinity of New York and the Chicago metropolitan area.

In

recent years, a migration trend of the Polish population to Florida, Colorado and Arizona has also been observed. Over the last few decades there has been a clear change in the financial status of PolishAmericans. The Polish-American community is getting richer and, as a result, its purchasing and intellectual potential is growing. Statistics for 2016 from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate the average income of a Polish-American household in the United States at over $71,000, when the national average is just around $55,000. The share of people with higher education in this group is 41.6 percent, while the national average oscillates around 30 percent. It is therefore not surprising that American banks, insurance companies or medical centers develop comprehensive and effective advertising campaigns aimed directly at a Polish-speaking audience.

But the question is: Has the above described opportunity been exploited by companies from Poland?

In recent years there has been a noticeable, although still too limited, increase in interest in this market among companies coming directly from Poland.

An excellent example is FAKRO, a Polish company which has been selling roof window systems in the United States for 12 years. Waldemar Szalus, president of FAKRO America, says that for his company as a global manufacturer of this type of product, looking toward the United States was a natural stage of development. He emphasizes that despite focusing on sales on the American market in a broad sense, it was natural that in the initial phase of this activity the company’s steps were simultaneously directed to the Polish market there.

Another and perhaps the most spectacular example are Polish food products.

Last year alone, one of the largest food distributors, LOWELL International Foods,

brought almost a thousand containers of Polish food to the United States.

These examples are only the tip of the iceberg of existing possibilities. Poland can still offer a wide range of products and services attractive to PolishAmerican consumers. For example, the services of sanatoriums, i.e. highly specialized health and wellness clinics located in Poland, which are nonexistent in the American healthcare system, are hardly promoted among the Polish community. The same applies to treatment and cosmetic medicine as well as dentistry. Private medical centers operating in Poland can compete in the United States for patients looking for affordable health services. Another area that does not take advantage of the fact that each year there are over 400,000 passengers flying to Poland from the United States is the tourism industry.

There is a large number of attractive places and services available in Poland for which there is still no comprehensive offer for the most obvious target: Poles travelling home from the United States.

The offices of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) established in

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

the last two years in the United States are designed to help Polish companies identify opportunities for export and expansion into the American market, including the Polish community. The head of the Chicago branch of PAIH, Micha∏ Rzeênik, believes that both Americans and Poles living in the United States would be happy to take advantage of the quality offer of Polish entrepreneurs. However, it should be presented to them appropriately.

How can we reach Polish communities in the United States? Over the years, Polish-Americans have developed very well-functioning media in the form of a dozen or so radio and television stations and local periodicals, which can be used for information and advertising purposes. The problem is that companies planning to expand to the United States have little or no knowledge about PolishAmericans as a large market, which hinders their ability to effectively use this consumer potential. Unaware of the enormous purchasing potential of customers of Polish descent, Polish companies usually leave them on the margins of their marketing campaigns, while this market, like any other, requires a comprehensive marketing strategy tailored to the needs of a given product or client.

Oliwier Wasilewski and Tomasz Pop∏awski www.Ingressus.us

Polish – American Trade Growth 2008-2018

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Sales on the Rise Tomasz Mróz, executive director of Renault Polska sp. z o.o., talks to Bartosz Grzybiƒski: In April 2019 the Renault Group reported a 30-percent year-on-year increase of car sales in Poland. This is the biggest growth among the Top 10 makes. What contributed to this result?

It is true, April confirmed a trend visible from the start of the year, namely a steady increase in the sale of Renault and Dacia vehicles. Between January and April 2019, these sales grew by 20 percent compared to 2018. This makes us especially glad because it happened on a market that records sales growth of less than 2 percent. The aforementioned result increased our market share by 2 percentage points. Many elements contributed to this success, but key ones include the strong position of the Clio model, Renault’s offensive in the C segment with the Renault Megane and the new Kadjar, and the results of the Dacia Duster, the best selling SUV in Poland. Another important factor is our solid position in delivery vehicle sales and Renault’s stronger standing in the electric vehicle market, including in car sharing. It is worth mentioning one of the most recent projects and the 40 Renault ZOE cars available in the Vozilla municipal rental system in Wroc∏aw.

What is the Renault Group’s share in the passenger car market?

In April 2019 we sold 6,324 Dacia and Renault cars, including 3,204 registered Renaults and 3,120 registered Dacias. Compared to April 2018, sales grew by 1,416 cars (30 percent). Between January and April 2019, sales

reached 25,000 cars, i.e. 4,000 more than in the same period of last year. Sales of the Renault Group in Poland grew by 20 percent, with 40-percent growth for Dacia and 4-percent growth for Renault vehicles. The company’s market share is 12 percent at present, an increase of 2 percentage points.

What about delivery vehicles? What models are sales leaders?

The Renault Group is seeing sales growth in the delivery vehicle market as well. As of the end of April, this was an increase of almost 9 percent year on year. Between January and April 2019, almost 4,100 delivery vehicles were registered: 3,326 Renaults and 770 Dacias. Sales in April alone stood at 1,059 delivery vehicles (Renault: 798, Dacia: 261). The best-selling model is the Master – leader on the Polish market in 2018 and 2019, and leader for the past 10 years among vehicles intended for fitting out. This is a good sign ahead of the planned launch of the new Trafic in September 2019. The Renault Kangoo Express is reporting strong sales growth: over 100 percent year on year.

What are your forecasts for the rest of the year?

I hope it will be very similar. I am counting on the Renault Group continuing to increase its share in car sales in Poland. We have a very rich offering of products, attractive terms, and a professional network of dealerships.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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Real Estate Investment Volumes Analysis Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield presents commercial real estate investment volumes. Approximately EUR 754 million was invested in Polish commercial property in the first quarter of 2019.

“The

investment volume hit approximately EUR 754 million in the first three months of 2019, of which over 70%, or EUR 536 million, was invested in office assets. Although the first quarter’s result accounts for just a little more than one third of that recorded in the same period last year, the Polish market is likely to see an equally strong performance this year as in 2018 given pending transactions, the level of investment activity and asset availability,” says Marcin Kocerba, Associate, Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield.

Office and hospitality assets attracted the strongest investor interest. Hospitality investment volume hit more than EUR 143 million, which represented more than a threefold increase on the same period last year (approximately EUR 43 million). The office sector saw an almost fourfold increase with nearly EUR 536 million traded in Q1 2019 compared to approximately EUR 142 million in Q1 2018.

Retail attracted only EUR 36 million in Q1 2019. The investment activity in the industrial sector reached EUR 39 million in the first three months of 2019, down from approximately EUR 135.2 million recorded in Q1 2018.

“Last year’s trends gained momentum in the first quarter of 2019 with high levels of investment activity on the office and industrial markets, and an increased interest in alternative assets such as hotels, PBSA and PRS. Investors are far more cautious about the retail sector with demand being highly selective,” says Kocerba.

Marcin Kocerba, Associate, Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield

Sagittarius Business House in Wroc∏aw

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JLL on Residential Market Following a turbulent period due to issues with new supply, the primary residential market in Poland is slowly stabilising. Prices are rising, but not as rapidly as before.

In

the first quarter of this year, developers on the six major markets in Poland sold 16,500 new flats, repeating the result attained in Q4 2018. During this same period, a similar number, 16,800 units, were put up for sale. Poznaƒ and ¸ódê are experiencing a late boom, as sales on these markets reached record highs in Q1 2019 - the latest JLL report on the Residential Market in Poland - Q1 2019 says.

There were no unexpected changes in Q1 2018 in terms of the residential market’s results. In spite of a marked decrease (of 12.5% quarter on quarter) in the number of new units put up for sale on the market, developers were successful in stabilising the process of launching more projects, while the number of flats placed on the market over the last 12 months (67,900) was significantly higher than the number of flats sold in this period (62,900). The levelling out of demand and the stabilisation of conditions in the construction sector curbed the rapid rise in prices seen last year.

In Kraków, the Tri-City, and Poznaƒ, average prices of flats on offer remained at December's level, and were only 1.3% higher in ¸ódê.

Despite supply being sufficiently high and a stabilisation in prices, developers on the major markets were not able to significantly increase the number of transactions in the first quarter. Firms operating in Wroc∏aw and the Tri-City even recorded decreases in double digits (percentage-wise) compared to December.

The fall in the number of transactions is mainly due to a drop in demand on the part of private investors buying flats to let. Rising prices have rendered flats bought for this purpose significantly less profitable. Buyers, in particular the wealthiest buyers who purchase flats with cash, are putting off investment-related decisions.

Meanwhile, an interesting situation is emerging in Poznaƒ and ¸ódê, which have previously experienced the least activity on the primary market. These markets are in fact currently experiencing a boom. While the greatest number of transactions on the other markets (Warsaw, Kraków, Wroc∏aw, and the Tri-City) was recorded in particular quarters of 2017, only now are records being broken in

Poznaƒ and ¸ódê. Sales of flats on the Poznaƒ market was 1,700 (up 36% quarter on quarter), and 1,300 (up 26% quarter on quarter) in ¸ódê.

Considering the fact that flat sales in ¸ódê were still hovering around the 800 mark per quarter in 2017, sales figures exceeding 1,300 units are impressive. Developers in ¸ódê are reaping the benefits of the release of an exceptionally high number of very appealing flats in previous quarters.

Katarzyna Kuniewicz, Head of Residential Research at JLL. Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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"If buyers in Poznaƒ react in a similar way to the increased number of flats available, then more record sales are still to come in Poznaƒ", says Katarzyna Kuniewicz, Head of Residential Research at JLL. "The Polish property development market is still thriving.

Although sales have decreased in most cities compared to the record highs of 2017, Polish cities remain ahead of other cities in the region and Europe in terms of the number of flats built with a view to being sold", adds Kazimierz Kirejczyk, Vice-President of the Management Board at JLL. The report on the Residential Market in Poland - Q1 2019 does not conclude however that the sector has no cause for concern. The crucial factor for stability in the sector is maintaining a balance between supply and demand.

It is this balance that has enabled the Polish residential

market to grow in the last few years. The key issue as regards flexibility of supply will be the envisaged legislative developments, such as a return to the option of purchasing arable land within city boundaries and a new Zoning Act. The factor hampering demand could be further price hikes, which will be inevitable if supply continues to be limited.

"The increasing number and ever greater activity, on the part of investment funds interested in purchasing entire residential buildings for long-term letting, will present an opportunity for maintaining the current level of transactions in the next years. More and more developers are beginning to see institutional investors as a means to sell flats", says Pawe∏ Sztejter, Evecutive Director, Head of Living Services, JLL.

Kazimierz Kirejczyk, Vice-President of the Management Board at JLL.

Pawe∏ Sztejter, Evecutive Director, Head of Living Services, JLL.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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Warsaw - the Flex City 3,5 million sq m - this is the amount of flexible office space currently offered by operators on the 20 biggest office markets in Europe. Warsaw is ranked as the ninth biggest flex city in Europe. Last year, the city saw the largest growth of flexible space on the continent.

The

rise of flexible spaces for work is one of the most important trends on European office markets. According to analyses by JLL, this office market segment is driven by the growing expectations of tenants as well as the changing needs of employees.

Furthermore, in the next five years it has a chance to triple its volume from 3.5 million sq m to up to 10 million sq m.

It seems that flex offices are taking the Polish real estate market by storm.

The flex office segment was founded in the early 1980s with serviced offices cropping in Europe and becoming the first de facto suppliers of flexible office solutions. As the market began to change, and the number of start-ups grew year by year, coworking concepts have inexorably gained in popularity. That’s why some operators decided to combine serviced offices with a coworking component, creating a hybrid flexible space model.

Currently, a hybrid flexible space model is the fastest growing market segment, contributing 1.1 million sq m of office space in the top 20 European markets between 2016 and 2018. The expansion of the flexible space market also has an impact on retail properties, which are increasingly offering space adapted with a focus on such offices. We predict that in the next four years, this flex space segment will expand in the US at an annual rate of 25% until 2023, and we can soon expect a similar dynamic in Europe.

Flexible membership contracts offered by operators, the increasingly popularity of remote work and the growing number of freelancers are contributing to the development of this office market segment. In a knock-on effect, the phenomenon of flexible workspace has also influenced the hotel sector.

Lifestyle concepts, such as Schani in Vienna or The Student Hotel in Amsterdam, provide their guests with coworking zones which resemble top-notch spaces from the

creative interiors of Spaces and WeWork. An interesting idea, which is steadily making waves on the market, is hybrid projects that combine co-living and co-working functions. A prime example of this trend is the Zoku concept, from Amsterdam, which offers a place for traveling professionals to stay for an extended period - from several days up to several months.

The overall supply of flexible spaces is increasing rapidly, however, the number of unique operators is also surging. Research by JLL shows that there are some 725 different providers in the 20 biggest European flexible office markets, with 20% of this number opening their first location in the last three years.

Since 2015, the total volume of flexible office space in the top 20 European markets has doubled. By the end of 2018 flexible space operators had an astonishing 3.5 million sq m of space on offer. Therefore, the potential for further growth in this segment remains high. According to our estimates, the supply of flexible offices in the next five years may increase to up to 10 sq m, and by 2022 the European market will provide approx. 30,000 such locations.

Today, the biggest European markets for flexible office space include London, Amsterdam and Paris. Warsaw is now the ninth biggest flex city. Last year, the city registered the greatest increase in flexible spaces across Europe.

"The flexible office boom witnessed on the capital market naturally means that the sector is claiming a larger share of the office space stock. In this respect, Warsaw is second only to Amsterdam, London and Dublin", says ¸ukasz Dziedzic, Senior Research Analyst, Research and Consulting, JLL Poland.

Demand for flexible office, although still in most demand in Warsaw, is also growing on the largest regional markets - Kraków, Wroc∏aw, Tri-City, Katowice, Poznaƒ and ¸ódê.

Total volume of secured flexible spaces has now hit the 250,000 sq m mark, including 166,000 sq m in existing Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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centres and a further 87,000 sq m in signed deals. This equates to four Warsaw Spire towers.

As many as 76% of the flexible office space in the country is located in Warsaw, currently offering 17,000 full-time seats. Another 9,000 have already been secured with lease agreements for further new leases to be signed soon. This high level of activity has stemmed from a large variety of tenants operating on the capital market. It's not only start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises that seek flexible spaces for work. Large multinational corporations are also in the hunt for such space, selecting flexible solutions when seeking additional space due to sudden expansions, and addressing the design needs or wanting to provide their employees with a creative and inspiring place to work.

New operators have entered the Warsaw market, tempted by its enormous potential. In 2018, brands such as BeYOURSeLF, Solutions.Rent, Spaces, The Nest, Workin and WeWork opened in Warsaw.

"As many as 76% of our survey respondents, among whom were the biggest flexible space operators in Poland, claimed that Warsaw still has suitable space for further development of the flex segment. This confirms the high potential and absorbency of the capital market, particularly at a time when there is a temporary drop in supply of traditional office spaces and rapidly changing needs amongst tenants", says Adam Lis, Flexible Office Solutions Manager, JLL.

¸ukasz Dziedzic, Senior Research Analyst, Research and Consulting, JLL.

Adam Lis, Flexible Office Solutions Manager, JLL.

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Office market flourishes Total demand for offices in Warsaw during Q1 2019 was more than 140,000 sq m.

Approximately 750,000 sq m of space is under construction. Tenant activity is expected to grow, and the market is waiting for spectacular projects to be finalized.

A

ccording to JLL data, new supply in Q1 2019 totalled more than 20,000 sq m in the shape of three buildings, the largest being Spark B by Skanska Property Poland. Some of the most notable projects scheduled for completion in 2019 are Mennica Legacy (by Golub GetHouse) and Chmielna 89 (by Cavatina). However, the market will be facing significant changes in the coming years.

"We are witnessing the transformation of Warsaw's business skyline, which is mainly due to the construction of numerous office towers. Currently the market's total under-construction volume of 750,000 sq m should be completed by 2021. Two of the most spectacular on-going developments are The Warsaw Hub, a mixed-use project that enjoys great interest among tenants, and Varso Place including its tower, which will be the tallest building in the EU", says Tomasz Czuba, Head of Office Leasing, JLL. Other projects that are being developed in Warsaw’s centre include Generation Park, Skyliner, and Warsaw Unit.

"What’s quite distinctive about the market at the moment is that the vast majority of under-construction projects are located in the central parts of the city, which may result in a lack of new products in non-central areas in the mid-term. This is why the planned infrastructure changes are so important.

They aim to improve communication between particular parts of the city, which may, in turn, lead to the creation of new office locations in the capital. An example of this, is the planned construction of a new tram line from Zachodni station to the Wilanów district", says Mateusz Polkowski, Head of Research and Consulting at JLL. This year will once again be quite busy for flexible space providers. Some of them have expanded their presence in Warsaw in Q1 2019 such as Spaces in Centrum Marsza∏kowska and New Work in Wola Retro.

Approximately 50,000 sq m of new flexible space is confirmed to open this year in Warsaw and this number looks set to increase. In terms of newcomers to the market, UMA Workspace may open its first centre this year, assuming the Chmielna 89 project is finished on time.

Total demand for offices in Q1 2019 in Warsaw was more than 140,000 sq m, with the IT, services and public sectors responsible for a third of this figure. One of the most important announcements of the first three months was mBank’s decision to consolidate its Warsaw operations in roughly 40,000 sq m office space. This will be one of the most significant transactions for the Polish office market. It’s also worth noting increasing interest from public sector entities for leasing space in modern office buildings.

"The tenant activity in Warsaw is gaining momentum, and in the following months a number of high profile deals can be expected", says Czuba.

In terms of the distribution of demand in Warsaw’s submarkets, Mokotów took the lead, with 41,000 sq m transacted. The first three months of this year confirmed the robust conditions of this office part of Warsaw and despite the weaker streak of recent years show great potential for further development in the future.

The vacancy rate remains at a low level of 9.1% in Warsaw (6.3% in central zones and 11.0% in non-central zones of the city). This reflects the high levels of demand for offices in the capital and means that large companies looking for new office space have to consider pre-let option in order to secure desired space. The vacancy rate in Warsaw fell by 1.7 p.p. year on year, with the biggest drop seen in ˚wirki i Wigury corridor (9.6 p.p. year on year). 2019 should see Warsaw's vacancy rate continue to fall.

Prime headline rents rose in the central areas of Warsaw, due to high demand, the low vacancy rate and increasing construction costs. Prime rents here are currently quoted at 17 to 24 EUR / sq m / month, while prime assets located in the best non-central areas are 11 to 15 EUR / sq m/ month.

Mateusz Polkowski, Head of Research and Consulting at JLL. Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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Polish Industrial Market in Q1 Cushman & Wakefield presented the firm's report on Polish industrial market.

In

Q1 2019, new supply hit 506,000 sq m delivered across 22 projects, bringing Poland’s total warehouse stock up to 16.3 million sq m. The largest volumes of warehouse space were completed in Olsztynek (121,000 sq m, Hillwood BTS for Zalando Lounge), Wroc¸aw (94,000 sq m across four projects) and Central Poland (90,000 sq m across five projects). Another 2.14 million sq m is under construction, the strongest development pipeline at the end of the first quarter on record.

Warehouse take-up amounted to 944,000 sq m in Q1 2019, of which 74% was transacted under new leases and expansions while renegotiations made up the remaining 26%.

The strongest leasing activity was recorded in Warsaw suburbs (236,000 sq m), Wroc¸aw (197,000 sq m), Central Poland (178,000 sq m) and Upper Silesia (154,000 sq m).

The overall vacancy rate stood at 5.7% (up by 1 pp yearon-year), equating to 934,000 sq m of unoccupied warehouse space.

Rents remained flat or edged up slightly across most regional markets.

The first quarter of 2019 witnessed 22 new completions which brought Poland’s total warehouse stock up to 16.3 million sq m. Total take-up hit 944,000 sq m, of which 74% was transacted under new leases and expansions while renegotiations made up the remaining 26%. The Polish industrial market reported 154 leases with the average transaction size being 6,130 sq m.

“E-commerce remains one of the key industries driving demand for modern warehouse space in the country. Both large global online platforms and leading retailers and logistics operators whose services are becoming increasingly popular in Poland regularly report new space requirements across all regions. It is worth noting here that e-commerce and the requirements of e-tailing are redefining the concept of a warehouse and setting new challenges for developers. This issue will be further explored in C&W’s pioneering report on warehouse spaces for e-commerce which will come out on 12 June,” said Damian Ko∏ata, Associate, Industrial and Logistics Agency, Cushman & Wakefield.

Despite healthy supply levels, the overall vacancy rate edged up by 1 pp year-on-year to 5.7% at the end of March 2019. The highest vacancy rates were in Warsaw Inner City (11.6%, or 89,000 sq m) and in Poznaƒ (8.8%, Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

or 175,000 sq m). Developer activity remains robust with 2.14 million sq m currently under construction across 72 projects. The four markets leading the way in terms of the development pipeline include Upper Silesia (568,000 sq m, 13 projects), Central Poland (454,000 sq m, ten projects), Wroc∏aw (221,000 sq m, eight projects) and Warsaw suburbs (197,000 sq m, nine projects).

Rents remained flat or edged up slightly across most Polish industrial markets in the first quarter of 2019. Amidst a backdrop of strong occupier demand and rising land prices in some locations, developers have become less willing to negotiate rental rates. As a result, the gap between headline rents and effective rents has narrowed due to lower financial lease incentives. The highest headline rents stand at EUR 4.35-5.25/sq m/month for Small Business Units in Warsaw Inner City. By way of comparison, big- ➨

Damian Ko∏ata, Associate, Industrial and Logistics Agency, Cushman & Wakefield.

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Joanna Sinkiewicz, Partner, Head of the Industrial and Logistics Agency, Cushman & Wakefield.

box facilities fetch headline rents of EUR 2.40-3.70/sq m/month.

With a 17% growth in its warehouse stock in the last 12 months and more than 2.1 million sq m under construction, the Polish logistics market remains on a strong upward trajectory. While Warsaw and its suburbs, Central Poland and Upper Silesia continue to feature prominently on the radar of occupiers and developers, the Wroc∏aw market is also seeing a considerable increase in activity with supply likely to exceed 300,000 sq m in 2019. Smaller regional markets are also growing; these include Kielce, Rzeszów and Lublin in Eastern Poland, which reported a record-breaking volume of warehouse space under construction (166,000 sq m). Occupiers are also targeting Tricity, Szczecin and the Lubuskie voivodeship, which are becoming increasingly important distribution hubs for goods shipped to Western Europe and Scandinavia.

"Despite the rental growth in the past 12 months, the Polish industrial market remains the most competitive market in Central and Eastern Europe. The highest headline rents at big-box facilities are still lower here than in the Czech Republic (EUR 4.25/sq m/month), Slovakia (EUR 3.90/sq m/month), Hungary (EUR 4.50/sq m/month) or Romania (EUR 4.10/sq m/month). Effective rent differentials are also pronounced, further boosting Poland’s competitiveness as a warehouse or industrial destination,” said Joanna Sinkiewicz, Partner, Head of the Industrial and Logistics Agency, Cushman & Wakefield.

Office Market After Q1 International experts selected the most important events that took place in the first three months of the year in the office market.

At

the end of Q1 2019, the total modern office stock in eight regional markets exceeded 5 million sq m, which is 5.3% less than existing stock in Warsaw. Over 2 million sq m is under construction, of which over 834,000 sq m are in Warsaw and over 1.2 million sq m are in regional cities.

In the first quarter of 2019, over 20,000 sq m were delivered to the Warsaw office market. The largest project completed in the Polish capital was a further building in the Spark complex in the Wola district (building B, 15,700 sq m). The entire complex is due to be completed in 2023.

After the commissioning of II phase of the Business Garden complex, which consists of five buildings with a total area of 46,100 sq m, Poznaƒ joined the group of cities in which office resources exceed 0.5 million sq m.

The high level of new supply contributed to an increase in the vacancy rate to 15.8%. This is the highest level of vacant space among regional cities.

Akamai from the IT sector has renewed its lease of 11,200 sq m of office space in the Vinci Office Building in Kraków - it was the largest lease transaction in Q1 2019.

The largest share among all contracts signed in Q1 2019 were for new agreements (58%) and renegotiations (33%). Expansions and owner-occupier transactions amounted to 7% and 2%, respectively. Pre-let contracts accounted for 66,500 sq m, of which up to 43,100 sq m were leased in regional cities (64.8%).

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Navigation for Everyone ¸ukasz Tetkowski, Marketing Manager CEE MiTAC EUROPE talks to Bartosz Grzybiƒski: Car navigation is now available in virtually every new car. Why do we need an additional portable device?

Two situations come to mind. When you change to a bigger car, for example a camper, you need to purchase more specialized navigation equipment. Knowing the parameters of your vehicle, it will enable you to plan your route in such a way as to avoid unpleasant surprises and safely reach your destination. The next situation is a foreign trip. This is mainly about updating maps and speedcam databases.

Unfortunately, the navigation systems built into cars will rarely have such updating provided.

The navigation market is changing, sales are falling. How is Mio responding to this trend?

The navigation market is constantly changing. At present we are witnessing a 35- to 40-percent year-on-year drop in car navigation sales. That is why we have decided on a different direction of development. In Poland as well as around the world, consumers practice more and more sports, they want to be fit and keep track of their progress.

That is why we have added a navigation system with Cyclo training functions to our portfolio. It is worth noting that it is a navigation system and not, as in the case of our competitor, a training device with a navigation function. Cyclo is a navigation device equipped with training functions such as heart rate and cadence sensors. They are dedicated to people practicing cycling tourism, but not necessarily professional sport. It is also an affordable device, as the products start from PLN 799. This price is within the reach of a semi-amateur and bicycle fan. The market for bicycle navigation is growing very fast. We are not able to give an exact figure yet, but we are still gaining new experience in this market, for example in cooperation with semi-amateur bicycle teams. This cooperation allows us to improve our products in order to best meet the needs of our customers.

Mio isn't just about navigation. The company’s core business is video recorders. What is interesting about this part of your portfolio?

It is indeed our main area of interest. This is evidenced by our large market share. The Polish market is very price sensitive, so we have started to focus strongly on the group of customers to whom only the basic functions of a recorder are important. Looking at this trend, we have introduced products with fewer features and therefore lower prices to reach this particular customer group.

What’s new from Mio this year?

We have already launched four new products. Two midshelf models (the c540 and the c570) and two high-end models (the 797 and the 798 dual). It's worth mentioning that in the c570, the Mio brand has used technologies that were once used in the most advanced models. It offers all the important functions, including a GPS module, which is extremely important and few customers are aware of it. The metadata it collects may be crucial in resolving disputes Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

after a road collision. They synchronize the recording from the car camera with the date, time and geographical coordinates, so we are able to very precisely determine the time and place of an event.

What should drivers consider when choosing a video recorder?

Our recorders are designed to help drivers in their daily work, not just record their ride. I've already mentioned the GPS module and its role. It is certainly worth checking the quality of the recordings offered at night. Our devices have a Sony Starvis sensor which guarantees image quality and brightness in night-time recordings. What may interest potential customers is an intelligent parking mode that protects our vehicle when it is stationary by recording outdoor events. Our products include a motion sensor, which should be set first so that it does not switch on at the slightest movement, so as not to unnecessarily use battery power.

What does servicing such devices look like?

We never leave a customer to themselves. We guarantee specialist after-sales support. Customers can also count on support before making their choice. Mio products are available from specialist dealers who also offer assembly services, but from retail chains as well. What is worth emphasizing is that customers are better and better educated in new technologies, functions and equipment operation. Therefore, the installation and commissioning of our products is extremely intuitive and requires a minimum of knowledge and skills.

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New Mobility Ecosystem Digitalisation, rapidly progressing urbanisation and the need to reduce carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere are the main trends shaping the future of mobility. Professor Dr. Burkhard Wies, Vice President R&D PLT Replacement worldwide in Continental, believes that these will be the driving forces behind the development of smart tyres, automated driving, electric vehicles,connected vehicles and carsharing.

Burkhard Wies

A

ccording to the UN report, by 2050 at least two thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities.

Urbanisation may cause a deterioration of the inhabitants’ quality of life and place a significant burden on the transport infrastructure and the environment. New technologies, solutions and services available in the field of mobility must solve the problems arising in agglomerations. We’re already seeing an increase in the popularity of carsharing and the sales of alternative propulsion vehicles. The development of a new mobility ecosystem is also under the major influence of ecological, effective and economical solutions incorporated in the tyre design and production process and also throughout the service life of the tyre.

“Today’s tyres have remarkable properties - they adapt to the ground, remain functional even after being punctured, reduce braking distance or rolling resistance. In Continental we’re constantly working on new solutions, which help reduce the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere and improve fuel efficiency. Our newest product is the EcoContact™ 6 tire - an

answer to both strict safety requirements and increasingly stringent environmental standards”, said Wies.

“We have, however, even greater ambitions. Our priority is to meet the increasingly demanding expectations of the market and address the challenges posed by the mobility of the future, including those related to autonomous driving. For years now Continental has been working on developing smart tyres. One of the results of our work is a concept tyre, designed to automatically and appropriately respond to data collected by the sensors - without the need for the driver’s involvement. We’ve equipped the model with two innovative technologies, ContiSense and ContiAdapt”, he added.

The ContiSense technology relies on a special kind of rubber with the properties of a power transmitter and a sensor placed in the tyre. Its purpose is to measure the tread temperature and depth - if the parameter values exceed the safe level, the sensor immediately sends a warning signal to the driver. What’s more, the sensor is capable of detecting mechanical damage to the tyre and any snow or ice on the road.

ContiAdapt uses microprocessors which adjust pressure and either increase or decrease the tyre running surface. This allows for the tyre to adapt to the type of road surface and the weather - in severe weather conditions the tyre automatically becomes wider, which enhances its grip.

Although Continental has already made advances towards smart tyre development, there is still much to do before this solution finds its way to the market.

Many people associate Continental with tyres, even though its only a part of the company’s activity. Continental is a technology company, designing and producing, among other things, automotive electronics, integrated solutions for autonomous driving, advanced security systems and drivetrains. It’s one of few suppliers in a position to offer full electrification of the powertrain from one source. Moreover, it offers a complex solution allowing the car to connect with its surroundings - from the antenna to the display, from the safety software to the electronic control unit. Thanks to Continental’s fifth-generation cellular communications technology, the next vehicle generation will have 10 gigabits of bandwidth for fast and practical connectivity. With its 5G tests around the world, the company has laid the foundation for vehicles to communicate fast and seamlessly with one another and with the infrastructure around them. Continental has already received an order for volume production for its 5G connectivity solution.

“Autonomous driving, e-mobility and the cars’ connection with their surroundings – these three key elements are what makes Continental the architect of a safe, ecological and smart mobility ecosystem. We are developing and supplying technologies which the others are still testing. Our solutions, components and systems are already contributing to greater safety, efficiency, convenience and comfort in four out of five cars worldwide”, said Wies.

Continental systematically invests in our future technologies. In 2018 alone, the capital expenditure and research and development expenses as well as costs of the expansion of production facilities and capacities came to over ¤6.3 billion.

Currently Continental has approximately 49,000 engineers working on new trends and technologies, and just under a third of those engineers have a background in software. Continental wants to increase its workforce of software and IT experts by 30% - from 19,000 at present to 25,000 by the end of 2022.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

VOICE - IN BRIEF

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Focusing on the Future of Commercial Aviation Emirates, Premier Partner and the Official Airline of Expo 2020 Dubai, unveiled the design and visitor experience concepts of its ultramodern pavilion for the six-month megaevent. The Emirates Pavilion’s design and visitor experience will utilize interactive technologies and design thinking focusing on the future of commercial aviation. Emirates has already broken ground on the pavilion and construction began in March 2019.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline & Group said: “We are incredibly proud to unveil the first details of the Emirates Pavilion today, which celebrates the themes of Expo 2020 Dubai. The aim for our pavilion is very much in line with that of Expo 2020 Dubai, to stimulate connections, create experiences and foster creativity and innovation, inspiring commitment to a better future. The forwardthinking experiences will highlight the best that is yet to come in aviation, and will be a platform to showcase how important mobility is for the world today and in the future.”

BASF Polska Wins "Investor Without Borders" Award During the European Economic Congress concluded in May, BASF Polska received the "Investor Without Borders" award. The award was granted for innovation and consistent implementation of sustainable development objectives taking into account the interest of the natural envi-

ronment and social environment. BASF has been present in Poland for 27 years, providing innovative solutions for almost all industries. In 2014, in Âroda Âlàska near Wroc∏aw, a plant for manufacturing car catalysts was established and is currently undergoing expansion. It is the largest plant of this type owned by BASF, producing catalysts of the latest generation, meeting the increasingly stringent Euro VI / 6 emission standards. "The group of foreign investors is quite numerous, so we are even more pleased with this honorable distinction. We have grown attached to Lower Silesia, and the catalyst plant, a project founded in 2014, is still developing. We improve our factory and production processes to reduce our impact on the environment, including by reducing electricity consumption. This award confirms that our activities are also appreciated by the local community," said Katarzyna Byczkowska, managing director of BASF Polska, accepting the award.

Grupa Azoty Receives Declaration from LOTOS on Acquisition of Shares Worth up to PLN 500 Million Grupa LOTOS S.A. has signed a letter of intent with companies from Grupa Azoty regarding the possible investment of up to PLN 500 million in the implementation of the Polymery Police project. Previously, PDH Polska S.A. (a special-purpose vehicle of Grupa Azoty and Grupa Azoty Police implementing the Polymery Police Project) received letters of intent from Korean concerns Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. and Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation regarding potential financial involvement in the Polymery Police Project worth up to USD 130 million, i.e. also about PLN 500 million. "In its strategy for 2017-22, Grupa LOTOS S.A. indicates investments in the development of the petrochemical sector as one of the directions. We see the potential of the market and are analyzing our possibilities of further extending the value chain towards high-margin products," says Mateusz A. Bonca, PhD, president of the management board of Grupa LOTOS S.A. "We see the Polymery Police Project as a potential opportunity to further diversify our business," he adds.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

VOICE - IN BRIEF

NTT System - Exclusive Distributor of OnePlus Products in Poland NTT System has signed a distribution agreement with OnePlus - a brand of smartphones from the premium segment. The Polish partner’s offered range initially included two of the latest models whose world premiere took place in mid-May: the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro. They are available in several memory sizes and different colors.

"The OnePlus brand has been present on world markets for several years and has already achieved a very high position in some regions. In Poland, it is only just entering the market through NTT System as the only distributor," says Grzegorz Kania, NTT System’s representative for mobile devices. "The supplier is distinguished from others by its sales format, apart from the very high quality of its products. OnePlus smartphones are only available in e-commerce networks, i.e. from retailers who sell online," adds Kania.

NTT System initially offered the OnePlus 7 Pro Mirror Gray in 6+128 and 8+256 memory and the OnePlus 7 Pro Nebula Blue 8+256 and 12+256 versions, and the OnePlus 7 Mirror Gray 6+128 and 8+256 and OnePlus 7 Pro Almond 8+256 from the end of May. The smartphones are now available online from e-stores.

Financial Results of Bosch Group in Poland for 2018 Bosch, a leading global provider of technology and services, achieved a consolidated turnover of PLN 5.4 billion (EUR 1.27 billion) in Poland in 2018, which is a 3percent increase compared to the previous year. Net turnover of the Bosch Group in Poland, including sales of non-consolidated companies and internal sales, amounted to PLN 8.6 billion (EUR 2 billion) in 2018.

Employment increased by 16 percent - Bosch employs more than 7,400 people in Poland. The Bosch Group's investments in Poland in 2018 were record-breaking high: over PLN 660 million, including the construction and development of production facilities and competence centers. By 2020, Bosch will have reduced its carbon footprint to zero at 400 locations around the world.

"Poland is an important market for the Bosch Group - we are active in many industries and are leaders in many of Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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them. In Poland we not only sell, but also create and produce products with the Bosch logo," emphasizes Rafa∏ Rudziƒski, president of Robert Bosch Sp. z o.o. and representative of the Bosch Group in Poland. "In 2019 we expect further positive development of our business, taking into account the results we achieved in the first quarter of this year," he adds.

Vienna House Opens New Hotel in Wroc∏aw The Austrian hotel group Vienna House has announced it will open a hotel with 240 rooms in the center of Wroc∏aw in the first quarter of 2022. The new city hotel in the smart casual style will be positioned as Vienna House Easy. Its infrastructure includes a fashionable restaurant, a lifestyle lobby with a bar, a modern gym and a spacious conference space. The hotel will be a part of a redesigned complex of buildings around the protected Old Bakery. The complex will also include student flats of the Basecamp brand.

"Wroc∏aw is an exciting, developing marketplace, and the hotel's location in the city center, next to the Botanical Garden, is perfect. The Vienna House Easy, a hotel that departs from rigid standards and focuses on unpretentious guest service and an energetic concept for student apartments, will create a perfect combination and become an attractive new meeting place,” says Rupert Simoner, CEO of Vienna House, about the planned project.

Compiled by Bartosz Grzybiƒski

VOICE - CAR REVIEW

34 PORSCHE CAYENNE E-HYBRID

Pure Pleasure Driving any Porsche is a pleasure. Drivers appreciate the brand mainly for its high performance engines, precise steering and handling. In the case of the Cayenne eHybrid model, this is also pure pleasure because the hybrid drive is environmentally friendly without compromising on dynamics and driving performance.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

VOICE - CAR REVIEW When Porsche withdrew its diesel engine from the Cayenne range last year and replaced it with a hybrid, many fans of the brand couldn't help but be concerned. A hybrid Cayenne!? The diesel engine borrowed from Audi may not have been "trendy," but it did provide excellent performance. Can a hybrid drive meet the sporting expectations of its users?

Turns out there's no problem with that. A six-cylinder gasoline engine with a double turbo charge of 340 hp is compatible with an electric motor generating an additional 136 hp. The total power of both units is 462 hp.

Despite its weight of about 2,300 kg, which is largely due to the placement of electric batteries between the rear seat and the floor of the luggage compartment, the car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5 seconds and can drive at a maximum speed of 253 km/h. Power and gigantic torque of 700 Nm (available in the range 1000-3750 rpm) are electronically separated into both axes by an 8stage Tiptronic S automatic (with a sequential gear shift function) which instantly and smoothly changes gears.

This Cayenne model is a plug-in hybrid with the ability to charge the battery with a charger. On one side of the rear fender is a "traditional" fuel filler, and on the other side is a charging socket. It looks a little weird, but it works. It takes 7-8 hours to recharge the battery from a regular 230 V socket with the help of the cables used for everyday driving in the trunk. With a fast charger, this time can be reduced to 2.5-4 hours. According to the manufacturer, when a 14.1 kWh battery is fully charged, a distance of 40 km can be traveled on electricity alone, but this is a theoretical distance depending on the driving technique and traffic volume.

While driving, the driver can select the e-Power, Hybrid, Sport, or Sport Plus driving mode using a knob on the steering column. In the e-Power mode, the car is driven only with the use of an electric motor, if the battery power supply allows it. Hybrid mode has three submodes that can be changed from the screen. One of them is "Auto," in which the Porsche switches between the internal combustion engine and the electric

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engine but does not charge the batteries. The "e-Hold" mode means that the current battery charge level will be maintained and will not decrease or increase. Finally, there is "eCharge," i.e. charging while driving, when the gasoline engine charges the batteries. This is the mode enabling maximum energy recovery of the hybrid system. This happens during braking or as soon as you take your foot off the accelerator. In the Sport modes, especially Sport Plus, all systems go to full performance for the ultimate driving experience.

Switching from electric to hybrid mode is unnoticeable and without any jerks, and the gasoline engine responds immediately if you step on the gas pedal more dynamically.

Driving pleasure and comfort is enhanced by the PASM air suspension with self-leveling and ground clear-

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

ance control, a sensational audio system and all active and passive safety systems available on the market. Like any Porsche, the Cayenne e-Hybrid is fast, luxuriously equipped and, of course, expensive. The basic version costs more than PLN 430,000, but it is very easy to increase this by retrofitting the car optionally. The test vehicle cost over PLN 650,000. No wonder, since 21-inch rims alone cost PLN 25,000 while Palladium Metallic paint is PLN 12,500.

Hybrid drive, whose idea is based on the cooperation (synergy) of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, not only works well in everyday use but also allows you to fully, without the slightest compromise, use the sports genes of the brand. If somebody can afford it, and can feel "eco" at the same time - then why not?!

Story and photos by Bartosz GrzybiĆ’ski

VOICE - GREAT GEAR

36

Beauty Regime Against Modern Pollution Natura Bissé, a luxury Spanish brand known for its innovative products made from high performing active ingredients, has launched the Diamond Cocoon Collection to protect the skin from damage caused by daily environmental pollution.

The new 6-product line was developed to address the growing, yet largely unheeded effects of microscopic pollutant particles, undetected by the human eye.

Exposure to solar radiation, gases, heavy metals and the blue light emitted by digital devices leads to cutaneous alterations, dark spots, allergic reactions and a dull, lifeless skin tone. A complete skincare range from Natura Bissé liberates skin from toxins, fortifying and shielding it against today’s invisible aggressors. Mimicing the epidermal function, it works as a dual-action smart defense system that strengthens the cutaneous barrier to protect its inner layers.

The Daily Cleanser removes make-up, impurities and pollutants while preserving hydration. The Enzyme Cleanser eliminates pollutant particles deposited on the skin, thoroughly cleanses pores, removing dirt and excess oil. The Skin Booster, fortified with a high concentration of antioxi-

dants, boosts skin oxygenation, reduces free radicals and balances the skin’s microbiota.

The regime is complete with Diamond Cocoon Hydrating Essence and Ultra Rich Cream which provide intense hydration for up to 72 hours and offer antioxidant action. The Diamond Cocoon Ultimate Shield mist defends skin from blue light and blocks the adhesion of small pollution particles.

Recognised as the Best Spa Brand in 2018, Natura Bissé also offers the new collection in the form of a luxury Diamond Cocoon Facial treatment, available exclusively at the Beauty First Mamaison Le Regina in Warsaw.

The Italian Perris Monte Carlo perfume house has launched a new fragrance, perfect for the summer. Arancia di Sicilia enriches the citrusy-fresh Italy Collection, celebrating the aromas and essences inherent in the Italian coast of the Mediterranean. The scent is built around the most iconic citrus from Sicily: the Orange Sanguinella. The fragrance fuses the energy of freshly squeezed orange juice with an enveloping sweetness of pure candy. The scent’s heart is enhanced with almond, vanilla and cinnamon, followed by base notes revealing soft musk and amber then finally the intense aroma of absolute of coffee. www.missala.pl Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

Compiled by Marzena Robinson

Higgs, floor and reading lamp designed by Piero Castiglioni and made by an Italian high-end furniture company Promemoria, can be a striking addition to a contemporary living room thanks to its minimalist silhouette and expert craftsmanship that combines traditional materials with modern sensibility.Exploring the shapes that the material can take, the lamp features a round base and vertical element made of metal with a glossy black chrome finish.

It supports a unique spherical shade in tinted Murano glass revealing the LED strips inside. www.promemoria.com

Yummy Scent

Minimalistic Excellence

VOICE - GREAT GEAR

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Olympus TG-6 The TG6 is the latest, even more functional, compact Tough camera for special applications. Just like other models in this series, it is waterproof up to 15 meters and also resistant to dust, dust, frost to -10 degrees Celsius, shocks, falls from a height of up to 2.1 m and crushing with a weight of up to 100 kg. The sturdy TG-6 is equipped with a sensor system that captures the smallest details of your subjects. It guarantees perfect coloring of photos and

high image quality. It also features new underwater photo modes, more versatile macro photo modes and a higher resolution LCD display.

Fossil FS5436 Taking cues from 1960s-era architectural and automotive design, Fossil Townsman has a clean, symmetrical style and elevated construction.

Elegantly vaulted hands, beveled indices and ashapely case make this timepiece a classic for decades to come. This 44mm watch features a dark satin dial with rose gold-tone stick indexes and blue leather strap.

Ricoh Theta Z1

MyScreenProtector Inquisitive glances can bring a lot of unpleasant experiences. Think about protecting your screen. Everyone who owns a smartphone uses glass protectors to prevent the display from breaking, but not everyone knows that this can be combined with data protection.

MyScreenPROTECTOR offers privacy filters such as the antiSPY SHIELD (protective film) or antiSPY GLASS (tempered glass) as well as rare privacy shields for computer monitors in sizes from 13 to 32 inches, which can be particularly useful at service points in

MiVue 798 Dual MiVue 798 DUAL is a combination of the MiVue 798 and MiVueA30 camera. Such a connection guarantees securing what happens in front of the car, but also behind it. With the additional MiVue A30 rear camera you can capture images that are within the device’s Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

shopping malls, banks and wherever it is particularly important to ensure data security. field of vision, i.e. 140 degrees.

Recorded files will be saved in Full HD 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second. The rear camera also features a high quality Sony optical sensor, which guarantees the best possible recording quality, especially in low light conditions, and glass optics with the same aperture as the MiVue 798front camera.

Compiled by Bartosz Grzybiƒski

The RICOH THETA Z1 is the latest model from the family of cutting-edge 360-degree cameras. The RICOH THETA Z1 supports approximately 23-megapixel resolution (6720 x 3360 pixels), 360-degree still image photo shooting as a high-end model of the RICOH THETA camera series, which can shoot spherical images in a single shot, giving consumers the opportunity to adventure, discover and capture life in 360. The main body of the camera, with a 0.93inch organic EL monitor and a Function (Fn) button, grants users access to a multitude of information at a glance, including the number of possible shots, exposure settings, and more, thus greatly improving the operability of the camera itself. In addition to JPEG, the RICOH THETA Z1 now supports Adobe® DNG format (RAW) so that users can enjoy professional image editing as with a general digital SLR camera.

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Beautiful Pink to Party in Warsaw An esteemed performer and international pop icon P!NK will make a stop in Warsaw during a world tour promoting her latest album P! NK Beautiful Trauma.

The

artist, famous for her extremely strong and unique voice as well as professional and energetic performances, will play at the PGE National Stadium on July 20.

Since her debut in 2000, P!NK has released seven studio albums, one greatest hits album, sold over 50 million albums equivalents, over 75 million singles, over 2.4 million DVDs worldwide and has had 15 singles in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (four at number1). In addition, she has won three Grammy Awards (19 nominations), one Daytime Emmy Award, three Billboard Music Awards, seven MTV Video Music Awards (including the 2017 Michael Jackson Vanguard Award recipient), two MTV Europe Awards, two People’s Choice Awards, was named Billboard’s Woman of the Year in 2013 and has sold out arenas all over the world.

Her seventh studio album, Beautiful Trauma, certified platinum, debuted in first place on Billboard’s 200 chart

and marked a career high for first week sales.

Additionally, the album debuted at number1 in ten other countries, on Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart and Digital Albums Chart. The first single, “What About US” is also certified platinum, received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance and reached first place 1? on the Adult Pop Songs chart earning her ninth leader on the chart, the most number-ones at the format for a female (second overall).

Australian singer and songwriter Vance Joy and DJ Kid Cut Up will join P! NK during the Warsaw concert as special guests. The former gained fame thanks to the hit single Riptide, which has already more than a billion hits on Spotify. The latter opened previous P! NK Beautiful Trauma World Tour concerts. The unique remixes created by him are played by US radio stations and chosen by artists such as The Chainsmokers, Diplo and DJ Khaled.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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Bon Jovi First Time Ever in Warsaw Bon

Jovi, one of the most famous rock bands in the world, will come to Poland on July 12, as part of the world tour “This House Is Not For Sale.” The American musicians will play their first ever concert in Warsaw at the PGE National Stadium, which can seat 50,000 people.

During the event dubbed as Bon Jovi - One Wild Night, the audience will hear such songs of all time as "You Give Love A Bad Name", "It's My Life", "Wanted Dead Or Alive",

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

"Bad Medicine", "Who Says You Cannot Go Home", "Keep the Faith ", "Always ", “Have A Nice Day" and "Livin 'On A Prayer. " With over 130 million records sold worldwide, a huge catalog of major hits and more than 2,800 concerts played in 50 countries for over 35 million fans, Bon Jovi is among the world's leading rock stars.

The band has won three times in the world's highestgrossing tour ranking - the 2008 "Lost Highway Tour" earned the band USD 210.6 million, the 2010 Circle Tour" brought USD 201 million, and 2013 "Because We Can Tour" garnered USD 259.5 million.

In April 2018, as a result of more than one million votes from fans, Bon Jovi was entered to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The success of the last album, This House Is Not For Sale, which made it to the top of the charts around the world, was the culmination of the team's career of more than three decades.

The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, lead guitarist Phil X, bassist Hugh McDonald, multi-instrumentalist Everett Bradley, co-producer and co-author John Shanks.

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From Opera Singer to Olfactory Visionary Christopher Chong, creative director of the niche luxury fragrance house Amouage, came to Poland for the first time to launch his new creation, Portrayal, at Quality Missala Perfumery in Warsaw. He spoke to the Voice.

You are an academic and opera singer by education.

How did you come to start working for the most luxurious perfume house in the world with no previous experience and training in the perfume world?

That was a life-changing moment. I decided that I should leave the world of classical music and pursue something different. Yes, you may think how could an opera singer know how to do perfumes. Well I didn’t. But back then, 12 years ago, Amouage was a very different brand. Founded in 1983 by the Royal family of Oman, it was originally to meet the specific needs of the Arabian market like hospitality and gift-giving. I joined the house because our CEO David Crickmore wanted to transform it into a truly international brand, to make it a world event. The reason why they chose me to do this was because they wanted Amouage to be different. And my three key words for the DNA of the brand were artistry, creativity and integrity.

If they hired someone from the industry that person would come with the industry textbooks. But they wanted to focus on artistry and bring an artist from outside, from another art form, to represent the brand.

My first task was to go to Paris and do the 25th anniversary fragrance, Jubilation. I was going to work with the most famous perfumers but I didn’t even know how jasmine smells. But when you are not an insider you don’t have fear.

I didn’t want to lie to the industry that I was a trained perfumer, I wasn’t even good at chemistry at high school. Now if you want to be a perfumer you must have a university degree or two in chemistry. So I went in there saying that I do not know the ingredients, I do not know how they smell but I come with the passion, I come as a story teller. And there is also a saying, if you do not how to do it, fake it until you know how to do it.

Twelve years later, with so many successful creations to your credit you definitely know how to do it.

Along the way I worked with some amazing teachers, master perfumers, guiding me, like Daniel Maurel. He never forced me into doing things as in the industry textbooks or into smelling things in the perfumer’s way. He was teaching me in a way that is hard to explain, as if he was a student and I was his teacher. He was learning my style, my perception of the world.

After I made my hit perfumes, Honour and Interlude, I asked my mentors whether I should go to a perfume school.

And they said “don’t” because perfume school will take you away from where you are now. You can choose the best teachers you want to work with, master perfumers you want to learn from. So I have learned and I am still learning.

What are the actual responsibilities of creative director at Amouage, how do you see your role in this enterprise?

At the time when I joined Amouage there was not such a thing as creative director in a perfume house. So my boss decided to model my job on a fashion house, which is about a vision, the overall vision of a creative director.

As I’ve said I’m a story teller and I was there at the right time when the global marketing was going towards story telling. I decided that in order to be original, and not a cheap imitation of something else, I am going to tell my perSummer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

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sonal story, bring an autobiographical approach to designing perfumes, just like in a fashion house where there is a personal element of the creator in the design of the final product.

I decided that to make Amouage stand out among Oman’s so many brands we need to focus on the creativity. And creativity comes from your inside, from your autobiographical elements and from how you see the world. So, as a creative director, I tell my personal vision, interpret the things that I love and turn them into an olfactive journey.

How much impact has the brand’s Arabic heritage had on your creations?

Amouage home is based in Oman so its heritage is very traditional. When they told me that I “cannot sell sex”, I thought I am in trouble now, because everything in perfume is about sexual attraction. Then I went into looking at Arabic heritage and found out it is all about story telling. So I decided to tell my own modern version of a fairy tale and incorporate my personal life into it. It took the form of a narrative with each one of my perfumes being another chapter of a personal olfactive story which can be followed through my journey.

In the beginning I used a lot of frankincense in a tribute to where the brand started. The best frankincense belongs to Sultan of Oman and no one else can use it. But as a brand has to evolve, integrate the rest of the world, in order to become international so you need to start travelling afar to incorporate other peoples’ cultures and heritage. And this is what Amouage has done through me.

Can you share some stories behind the chapters of your olfactive journeys?

The first cycle of my story started with Jubilation and ended with Fate, which explores the uncertainty of the future and the universal principle that the order of things is inescapably prescribed.

With the second cycle of the Amouage narrative called “Portraits of a Life” I decided to go much more in-depth of my own life, share my past, my hobbies, likes and dislikes.

My latest creation, Portrayal is the fifth chapter of the second cycle and as each of my perfumes begins with a personal story. As a child I was fascinated by science fiction.

When I misbehaved and my parents wanted to punish me I always imagined wormholes through which I could escape by travelling back in time or into the future. With Portrayal I decided to go back to the life of London’s roaring 1920s when the Bright Young Things, a group of decadent bohemian young aristocrats threw fabulous “portrayal” parties for which women dressed up as men and men dressed up as women. They would go on elaborate treasure hunts through nighttime London, getting wasted, high on opium and chased by paparazzi.

Then, through another wormhole, I travelled to New York’s grooving 1980s with Madonna and I found the common denominators between the two periods: lace, Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

pearls, white makeup and attitude - arrogance, which I translated into the olfactive.

In Portrayal Woman I used jasmine for the top note to recreate the liberation of women. 1920s was the first time when women did not have to wear the corset, were allowed to go out and have fun on their own. I heartened it with an undertone of tuberose to add sensuality as an element of this liberation. The second ingredient in the heart note is Craven ‘A’ tobacco because tobacco played a very significant social element to modern womanhood. It was the first time in 1920s that women could smoke in public.

Finally, the freshness of the base note of elemi resin reflects the continuous movement towards the modern womanhood as women keep changing the world and society.

With Portrayal Man, I wanted to show who the new, gender-bending man is. In the past, men’s perfumes were defined by a very restricted code how a man should smell.

But in 1920 things were different. The approach towards the old gender was much more daring and liberated.

After teasing the men with violet leaves in the opening we move onto the heart note of fresh and green vetiver embraced by juniper’s dry spice. The smoky, woody and leathery nuances of cade determine the base note of the formula, exuding an air of exquisite audacity.

I also wanted to translate the story into the packaging. So on the box you can see the patterns similar to wormholes, inspired by an elegant art deco jacquard, in silver and blue colour scheme popular in 1920s. The iridescent pearl finish of the bottle is meant to represent the science fiction time travel.

When do you know the perfume is good enough to complete your creative process?

I don’t know. There is no step by step way of telling until a product is finished. Along the line of the perfume creation process we push and push and push. And there comes a point of how far you can go with certain ingredients and when the olfactive instead of improving goes backwards.

Then we know we need to stop, clean up the formulas, remove some of the ingredients we have been adding on.

Sometimes the olfactive element loses the connection with the story, and then we also know we have gone too far.

How do you find a balance between artistic and wearable?

I never plan whether a fragrance will be more artistic or more commercial. It depends on the kind of holistic journey the fragrance would take me during development.

Sometimes it’s going towards a very artistic angle and I do believe in a very spiritual way that it’s meant to be that way.

It’s like nurturing a child. A child is not going to be a pianist no matter how much you force them to practice. My approach has always been: let the formulation tell you where you are going, don’t fight it, once you fight it you may have something that is no good.

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The Quality Stems From Precious Ingredients Gian Luca Perris, Creative Director of the Italian Perris Monte Carlo perfume house came to Warsaw in late May to launch his new fragrances at Quality Missala Perfumery. He spoke to The Warsaw Voice.

Your perfume house is relatively young, seven-years old, what did you do before?

Yes, I launched Perris Monte Carlo in 2012 but I have been involved in the perfumery business for over 30 years. I am actually the second generation of the Perris family in the fragrance industry. My father was working with Faberge and Elizabeth Arden and then we set up our own company as a distributor. This gave me the opportunity to travel the whole world, to meet customers but also to source ingredients for other brands. And when I found something special I kept it for my own project, my own perfume brand which I created seven years ago. I wanted to focus on the perfume scents rather than their marketing and express the experience gained from my trips through fragrances.

Your family also owns Houbigant, one of the oldest French fragrance houses. Is there a difference between the Italian and the French way of making perfumes?

Very much so. It is a different style, like in cuisine. The Italian way, and at the same time my way, is very simple and modern.

I need to find the finest natural ingredient that could be my inspiration and is really worth to be told about, to be translated into a fragrance. This special ingredient becomes the most important actor in the composition and other accords are built around it trying to respect and emphasize the character of the protagonist.

One of the fragrances you are launching today belongs to the collection dedicated to raw materials originating in Italy. What are these special ingredients, and are they exclusive to Italy?

As Italy is my native country I wanted to create a project dedicated to that. I

started with one of the most iconic ingredients in perfumery – bergamotto, a hybrid between bitter orange and lemon. Bergamot is extracted only in Italy and the best quality bergamot oil comes from one region of Italy Calabria. Normally, the industry uses machine-extracted bergamot oil but I use a special quality of “sponge bergamot” extracted manually by Capua brothers from Calabria, who use the most archaic method. One separates the fruit from the skin and the other uses a natural sea-sponge to extract the purest essential oil from the skin. The oil extracted this way has much more fruity, floral touch and many perfumers don’t know this quality, so totally different than standard industrial bergamot. The Capua brothers produce only 25 kilos of the bergamot sponge oil during extraction process limited to four months a year. Week after week as the fruits ripen, the smell of the oil changes.

As Bergamot is extremely volatile I added a new spice to my blend to make the freshness of the fragrance last - Timur pepper. It has a fruity touch, smells almost like pink grapefruit and keeps the lemony touch of the main ingredient. Together with ginger, iris and musk it respects the structure of bergamot. This formula was created by myself and reworked later by my friend Luca Maffei to improve its balance.

Luca also made Cedro di Diamante based on cedrat oil, which is rarely used these days due to a very high concentration of furocoumarins considered to be phototoxic. But the Capua family know how to make a clean cedrat oil free from furocoumarins, so it can be used in our formulas.

This year I have made another project for the Italy Collection with orange as the main ingredient, which is quite rare in perfumery. The industry normally uses the bitter orange

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

43

considered of better quality, but in Sicily we have a good quality of blood orange. The idea was to make the fragrance similar to the freshly squeezed sweet orange juice so we used a special method of extracting the essential oil not only from the skin but also from juice. The main ingredient was later brought together with some coffee, almond, vanilla and ambery notes.

But your other two new launches are not based on Italian ingredients.

With Les Parfums de Grasse collection I wanted to pay tribute to the history and unique craftmanship of Pays de Grasse, the cradle of French perfumery, and enable everyone to enjoy the quality and true greatness of this art. The idea came out of a big recognition for the industry from UNESCO, which in 2018 inscribed the Regions of Grasse on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in light of their exceptional knowledge associated with the cultivation of perfume plants, the knowledge and processing of natural raw materials, and the art of perfume composition.

I happen to be friends with a person that I consider the best nose in the world - Jean Claude Ellena. He comes from Grasse and as a young boy harvested plants with his grandmother for the perfumery business. Later, he also he worked in the factories producing essential oils and absolutes before becoming a master perfumer. As Jean-Claude has experienced first-hand all of the elements that made Grasse a heritage of humanity I asked him to make the two new fragrances. So Rose de Mai is his interpretation of Rosa centifolia from Grasse and the second project, Jasmin de Pays, is about jasmine which in Grasse is called “the flower.”

If not in Italy or France where else do you look for the ingredients?

I have many favorite ingredients from everywhere in the world. One of them is very special sandal wood harvested in the wild forest of New Caledonia. It takes at least thirty years for a tree to develop santal oil that is interesting for perfumery. For every such tree that we have to cut down we replant 50 new trees because the ecosustainability of the project is very important for me.

Among the finest raw materials I use is Osmanthus which comes from the south of China near the Guilin river. It is a rare, very powerful and complex fruity ingredient.

Another very important place for perfumery is a small volcanic island Nosy Be, just off the northwest coast of Madagascar. Its name in local language means the scented island because of the intense ylang-ylang aroma that fills the air. Their ylang ylang trees bloom for 12 months a year and Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

the petals are very rich in oil with an extremely bright sunny floral scent and almost fruity banana touch. The residents bring everything they harvest – spices, vanilla, papaya and ylang ylang to the market in the capital city of Hell Ville.

Then there is Rose Taif cultivated in Saudi Arabia, I could go on for hours.

Do you use any exclusive raw materials that no one else does?

There are quite a lot of them. Many of the citrus notes we select and profile with the Capua family are exclusive to me. The first two months of Capua sponge oil extraction, when bergamot is green, is taken by Dior, and when the bergamot becomes mature and yellow it is only for me.

The patchouli from Nosy Be is also exclusively made for my brand, likewise Rose Taif. We do a certified selection of many other raw materials, use unique processes and set special standards to obtain the finest ingredients.

Not all the ingredients I use are natural because there are scents that do not exist in nature. And sometimes some raw materials are not possible to use, for example natural musk is banned so we are obliged to use a synthetic substitute.

A perfumer is supposed to be a good storyteller. Are there any particular stories behind your creations?

My approach to perfumery is that the real story is behind the research of top quality ingredients, that sponge bergamot is unique and that there are only two brothers in Calabria who know how to extract it.

I love travelling around the world to discover different cultures in different areas, but the best part is to work with people who know how to harvest the ingredients, how to extract and mix them in the best way. It is very important for me to tell the story of those behind this long perfume making process, who put a lot of effort and passion into its various stages. Sometimes we don’t realize how much specialist knowledge is required to obtain the finest ingredients, especially when we go with natural blends.

In New Caledonia, only the local population of Kanaka participate in the whole process of extraction of natural sandal wood, which is actually becoming more and more synthetic in perfumery. And only the Kanaka can replant sandalwood trees, which is very important for this remote island.

In Taif, they don’t weigh but count the 12,000 roses that go into one alembic in order to obtain the mere 12 grams of essential oil.

So, very often, behind a specific ingredient there are people, their work and their culture, and this is the story and my inspiration.

44

In the Pursuit of Colour

new exhibition is the outThis come of joint collaboration by the National Museum in Wroc∏aw and the Ceramics and Glass Centre

Traditional Instrumentarium xhibition from the Collection of the Museum of Folk Musical Instruments E in Szyd∏owiec presents a few dozen instruments which give Polish folk music its characteristic sound.

Among the exhibits one can see chordophones, in which the sound is produced by a taut string (violin, bass, dulcimer); aerophones, which emit sound using air vibration (all types of Polish bagpipes, instruments played by shepherds such as trembita, as well as reed pipes, panpipes, whistles); a variety of membraphones (frame drums, ‘burczybasy’ i.e. drums made from open-ended barrels); idio-

in Kraków as a research and exhibition project regarding the history of Polish design of 20the century. Its main objective is carrying out the first phones in which the whole surface vibrates producing sound (rattles, clappers, bells).

All the exhibits were constructed as part of the cyclical nationwide competition in building folk music instruments which has been organized by the museum in Szyd∏owiec since the 1980s. Up to now five editions of this competition have taken place, and in the last one, organized in 2016, the participants were both craftsmen representing older generations (born before 1935), and young enthusiasts, some of them self-taught and others who explore the instrumental tradition of their region under the expert eye of the older masters.

The exhibition also shows photographs of folk bands and musicians, and a selection of short films using the material collected for the

academic study and popularization of knowledge about a prominent figure in the Polish design scene, Jerzy S∏uczan-Orkusz (1924-2002).

The artist during the 50 years of his professional career was behind many important and unique initiatives, among them the creation in the 1960s of a design centre in the “Nysa” glassworks producing glass for lighting equipment, and also product design for the “Lumet” Cooperative in Poznaƒ; he was also an initiator and long-term artistic manager in the experimental glassworks specializing in artistic glass at the Institute of Ceramics and Glass in Kraków, and during the 1980s, the chief designer at the “Tarnowiec” Glassworks in Tarnowiec.

In the spirit of the popular saying about ‘never being a prophet in your own land’, the curators wanted to recall the artistic accomplishments of this eminent designer. The research project and the exhibition are prepared for the 50th anniversary of establishing the experimental artistic glassworks in Kraków, to which S∏uczan-Orkusz was one of major contributors. The exhibition will be also shown in Kraków.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue.

National Museum in Wroc∏aw, 25 June - 22 September

museum in Szyd∏owiec during field research conducted in 2016. The films present several contemporary creators of folk music instruments and document their work.

National Museum in Wroc∏aw, 27 April – 1 September

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

45

Two Altarpieces the very first time since the Second World War the For National Museum in Wroc∏aw is able to exhibit in its full glory the famous silver altarpiece from the Wroc∏aw Cathedral of St.John the Baptist. This has been possible owing to the several months of work conducted by the specialist conservation team from the Museum.

The altarpiece was founded in 1591

by Bishop Andreas Jerin, one of the most prominent clergymen in the Wroc∏aw Diocese, and was made by two renowned artists representing Mannerism in Wroc∏aw: goldsmith Paul Nitsch and painter Bartholomaeus Fichtenberger.

The universally admired work of art which was also one of main attractions in the city adorned the cathedral chancel from 1591 to 1945. It was dismantled before the siege of Wroc∏aw (then Breslau, at the end of WW2) and never returned in its old place, while its numerous parts were either damaged or lost. The priceless artefact was prepared for the exhibition by an especially appointed team of conservation experts. The lost fragments have been recreated, and as a result the altarpiece

has regained its original appearance and long-lost splendor.

The exhibition will also showcase other unique pieces of goldsmithing art made for the Wroc∏aw Cathedral in Augsburg, which was during those times the most important centre of goldsmithery in Europe. Among the exhibited pieces are: a great silver tabernacle made by J.W. Fesenmayer, an antependium by A. Drentwett, a set of four silver altar figures, set of candleholders and the so-called canon tables. That

Post-war Polish Jewelry on Show new exhibition of the Museum of Warsaw showcases the work of the Orno Artistic Work The Cooperative, which co-created the characteristic style of post-war Polish jewelry. The exhibition is a guide to the Orno style, explains its source and phenomenon. It is also a story about the spirit of cooperativeness and community, which allowed to create a unique model of work - in Orno every craftsman could be both a designer and an artist.

As part of the training, the students of Romuald Rochacki, the founder of the cooperative, went for walks in the ruined Old Town streets and drew the architectural details of the building that have survived as well as elements of gates and railings. They became an inspiration for their later works, said Agnieszka Dàbrowska, curator of the exhibition.

For half a century, Orno workshops created thousands of rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, earrings, cufflinks and small accessories, such as hair buckles, powder compacts and paper knives. They were an expression of the strong Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

Augsburg set was a particular form of the second, a later Baroque and Rococo altarpiece which complemented the Mannerist main altarpiece.

Visitors can also view, for the first time, the recently discovered designs for restructuring and arrangement of the Cathedral’s chancel dating from the 1930s.

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue.

National Museum in Wroc∏aw, 30 April – 25 August

need to rebuild life after the war and of a longing for beauty and celebration of everyday life.

Over 1,600 exhibits shown at the Warsaw Museum include art works, documents, photos, souvenirs, packaging and advertising leaflets.

The exhibition is open until August 18.

46

Promemoria Opens First Polish Showroom in Warsaw Promemoria, an Italian high-end furniture company, opened its exclusive, mono-brand showroom in Poland in May.

The

ceremony was attended by Romeo Sozzi, Promemoria’s president and founder, who now runs the company together with his sons Stefano, Davide, and Paolo.

For years, Promemoria has been consistently combining craft with modern technology and beauty. Founded in the town of Valmadrera in 1988, the family-owned company is known throughout the world for hand-made furniture, characterized by timeless Italian design, natural materials, original spatial solutions and attention to detail.

Promemoria furniture decorates the interiors of apartments, houses, hotels and even boats and planes or such prestigious stores as Hermes. A favorite brand of such stars as Madonna, George Clooney, Tina Turner, Promemoria furnishings are now available in a Warsaw flagship store.

The 200 square meters showroom in on GórnoÊlàska street is divided into several ambiances; a bedroom, two living rooms and two dining rooms. In addition to the most iconic item in the company's portfolio, the Bilou Bilou chair, designed by Romeo Sozzi, on display is the Moscou low table, designed by Bruno Moinard, the hang-

ing lamp Higgs, designed by Piero Castiglioni and the newly introduced D’Ora floor lamp. Other outstanding proposals include the Albert sofa, the Goffredo table and the Amarcord cabinet in dark grey mahogany, all designed by Romeo Sozzi.

Promemoria has antique roots. The adventure began in the 19th century in a village on the shores of lake Como, where the Sozzi family ran a business restoring and repairing carriages for the local aristocracy. Their master craftsmanship, which continued through four successive generations, in the late 1980s became the main pillar of the Promemoria brand.

In time, a complex manufacturing unit developed and brought together all the various phases of working; from the search for materials to the study of finishings, which today is the undisputed pinnacle of decor excellence and gem among Italian and European artisans. Every piece is hand made. Often made to measure and in limited edition.

As with haute couture garments, the Promemoria sofas, fabric wardrobes, chairs and tables are objects not only to look at, but also to caress or even to smell. Attention to detail is matched with the use of exclusive materials -

Romeo Sozzi national or exotic wood essences, from Tuscan cypress to “macassar” ebony or sucupira.

Among the fabrics used by Promemoria are silk, linen, cashmere, the farandola of noble fibres, promptly reinvented. A unique microcosm, that of aristocratic metals, from bronze to silver and copper often to be found alongside Murano glass or Italian made porcelain to create handles, lampshades, or an extraordinarily fine dining service.

Starting from the historic Milan showroom, the brand has become global, and Promemoria is now present at exclusive addresses in the world’s major cities: Paris, London, Moscow, New York, Hamburg, Munich, Hong Kong and, as of May, in Warsaw.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

47

Art in Defence of Earth "Human-Free Earth" and "Center for Contemporary Nature" are two adjacent exhibitions at the Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, devoted to irreversible changes in the ecosystem as a result of human activity.

Put

together as part of the "Plasticity of the Planet" project, they focus on ecology, nature, its degradation and, on the one hand, efforts to save the environment and, on the other hand, ways to save man from the natural disasters.

"Human-Free Earth" presents individual and collective works of artists from Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Canada and the United States. Among them are sculptures, video installations, various objects of bioart, as well as new geological forms, such as plastiglomerates found on the beach

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

in Hawaii, which are a combination of rocks with molten plastic and fordites formed as a result of paint deposition in American car factories.

"Center for Contemporary Nature" has been organized by an independent international research team Forensic Architecture, which tracks the cases of ecocide, the deliberate destruction of nature in warfare. Researchers present two case studies of herbicidal use in Palestine and Colombia.

Curator Jaros�aw Lubiak said that artists try to show that nature is a responsive organism. “The human impact leads to the destruction of the world, the environment in which we have lived so far. However, nature creates new forms that we do not know, do not understand and have to face again. This is not an exhibition about destruction, but rather about what stems from it, how to behave towards all these changes,� he said.

Both exhibitions are open until September 22.

48

Artistic Glossary of World Exhibition of Maria Loboda’s art “Sitting Here Bored Like a Leopard” at the Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle is the artist’s first solo show in Poland, comprised almost exclusively of new works: sculptures, photographs, objects, and a stained-glass composition.

L

oboda combines many artistic disciplines, installations and recordings to create a symbolic dictionary of today's world in both a natural and a social context.

The reality is for the artist an infinite source of signs and meanings. She is interested in symbolic connection between things and time, between the material world and ideas, between rationality and mysticism.

The title of the Warsaw show has been borrowed from Sylvia Plath’s poem Leaving Early, the phrase “sitting here bored as a leopard” having served as a point of departure in developing its concept. A bored, lazy predator is calm and deadly at the same time: a mortal danger is expressed here through tedium rather than tension. A sensual image, a calm before the storm.

The exhibition’s highlights include fair-sized sculptures, their aesthetic neutral and modern, which the museum guards on duty can relax in. This is a sly, subtly anarchist gesture towards artworks which are protected from the viewer’s touch.

Deeper into the show, viewers encounter references to the figure of the businessman, here extracted from Edgar Allan Poe’s scathing satire "The Business Man", as well as motifs derived from film noir where the criminal is a metaphor of the “dark” and incomprehensible side of human nature.

The refined color palette of "American Gigolo" appears in a monumental stained-glass composition showing a scene from the movie with the motif of the Venetian blinds, inherent to noir-cinema style, but also to office aesthetics.

Loboda’s art follows the logic of poetry, it forces and encourages viewers to interpret and to search for a key to the secret message.

Born in 1979, in Krakow, southern Poland, the artist has been based in Germany for over thirty years. She is a graduate of the Staedelschule Frankfurt, an academy that offers its students a maximum of creative freedom, focusing on complete independence from all non-artistic constraints or goals.

Until September 22.

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49

New Exhibitions at Zach´ta Zach´ta – National Gallery of Art is presenting two new exhibitions this summer. The first one ”Red Floods the Frame” showcases works of Kazimierz Urbaƒski, one of the key figures in the history of Polish animated film.

U

rbaƒski was an experimenter in the field of cinematographic techniques and founder of the Film Drawing Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (1957-1972) - the first such institution in the world offering education in animation at a higher artistic school.

His artistic biography should be seen in the context of the cultural policy of Poland under Communist rule. Co-operation with state-run companies producing documentaries, educational films and animations for children gave him an opportunity to pursue his own cinematic experiments.

Urbaƒski actively worked in the peripheries of Polish film production, as part - and, at the same time, against the current - of state-owned institutions.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

The exhibition presents the artist’s original filmmaking output, including not only animated films, but also documentaries, his close relations with the avant-garde music of the time through his cooperation with composers and sound engineers from the Polish Radio Experimental Studio and various aspects of his educational activity. On view until August 25.

The other exhibition that can be seen at Zacheta is titled ”Alienations or the Fire Next Time.” The starting point of this collective project are destructive human activities perceived through alienation. The concept, usually associated with indifference, powerlessness, and objectification, is shown as a problem of not only becoming alien to oneself, but also towards the surrounding nature, and the society.

The seven films presented at Zacheta present effects of such alienated attitudes inbred in the commercial organisation of reality in which capitalism has reached its peak.

The works are part of the current trend of alienation critique of the modern world, aimed to reveal the truth behind the mendacious aspects of reality. These are related to political, economic, racial and gender differences as well as violence, greed, antihumanism, isolation from nature and violence against it, resulting in the devastation of the entire planet.

Artists taking part in the project include John Akomfrah, Allora & Calzadilla, Yuri Ancarani, Clement Cogitore, Camille Henrot, Arthur Jafa, Angelika Markul.

On view till September 29.

50

Rescued Masterpieces Regain Former Splendor The National Museum in Warsaw is presenting a unique collection of works

by August Zamoyski, one of the finest Polish sculptors of the twentieth century.

for thirty years and spent fifteen years in Brazil, where he emigrated during the Second World War. Starting from the late 1920s, he was often exhibited, mostly in Poland, France and Brazil, already gaining the recognition of critics and audiences.

He was interested in the structure of materials, their properties, such as hardness texture, and the possibilities of executing shapes directly in the stone (taille directe). He worked in various materials; many of his works were created in marble, granite and diorite, all of which are extremely hard stones.

During the collection showcase at the National Museum in Warsaw, all sculptures will undergo conservation in the museum rooms, on view until August 25.

fortunes of the collection reflect the turbulent biograThe phy of its author: Zamoyski liked to travel and frequently moved houses, so the works were relocated a number of times and displayed in various locations. After the artist’s death, his widow established a small private museum in Prieure des Granges in the French Pyrenees - in complete seclusion, away from any buildings, in the midst of a thick forest. The other portion of the artist’s legacy was presented nearby, in the medieval, formerly Cistercian abbey in Sylvanès. The latter collection was purchased and transported to Warsaw in March 2019.

It is comprised of ninety-three sculptures which represent all stages of the artist’s oeuvre - from the earliest attempts made while Zamoyski still lived in his native Jab∏oƒ near Lublin, to sculptures created in the last years of his life, including Resurrection, devised as his tombstone in SaintClar-de-Rivière. Also acquired were twelve drawings and preparatory sketches as well as several sculptures created by Zamoyski’s pupils.

Additionally, the collection features a set of over 200 tools used by the artist as well as the chests used to transport the sculptures from the Pyrenees to Poland.

Zamoyski was active for more than half a century; he worked in France Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

51

Warsaw Chamber Opera Opens New Stage Warsaw Chamber Opera (WOK), known for its Mozart Festival, organised every year since 1991, has gained an additional Warsaw venue where it will present a broader spectrum of its repertoire.

new stage is situated in a unique place dating The back to 1934. It used to house a swimming pool of the Polish branch of the Christian organization YMCA. The modernist building miraculously survived the Warsaw Uprising during WWII to serve the cultural needs of Warsaw residents for many post-war years as a venue for unique artistic productions.

Now, after two-year-long renovation, the facility equipped with a modern sound and lighting system, and

the auditorium accommodating about 300 people will house WOK's ambitious undertakings.

"We will be here for you, making you laugh and cry.

We will also make you think by often asking difficult questions. Because art is the mirror of the soul. Let's meet on both sides of the mirror ", Alicja W´gorzewska-Whiskerd, director of the Warsaw Chamber Opera said during the opening ceremony.

The event was graced by the performance of an internationally lauded jazz pianist Leszek Mo˝d˝er, who played a selection of his own compositions with the accompaniment of WOK’s early music instrumental ensemble "Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense" under the direction of Marcin Sompoliƒski.

The new stage dubbed as Basen Artystyczny (Artistic Pool) due to its heritage will soon see a couple of premiere productions. In September, WOK will stage there a musical “Przerwana cisza" (Interrupted silence) with music by Krzesimir D´bski and lyrics by Henryk Skar˝yƒski, directed

by Micha∏ Znaniecki.

A month later, an operita after "Maria de Buenos Aires" with music by Astor Piazzolla is planned.

Leszek Mo˝d˝er

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

Alicja W´gorzewska-Whiskerd

52

Aida Musical to Premiere at Roma Theater

Natalia Piotrowska, Anastazja Simiƒska and Basia Gàsienica Giewont

The new production of Warsaw’s Musical Theater Roma, Aida musical, to premiere in the autumn, stands a chance to become one of the most important cultural events of the season.

A

ida musical’s lyrics were written by Time Rice, one of the most the most celebrated British lyricists, who also penned songs for such musicals as "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita" or "The Lion King." The show has music by the pop legend Elton John, also the composer of "Billy Elliot "and "The Lion King" musicals and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls and David Henry Hwang. It was originally produced by Walt Disney Theatrical.

The Polish production is directed by Wojciech K´pczyƒski.

Aida takes place in ancient Egypt, and tells the story of the forbidden love between Aida, a Nubian princess taken captive by the Egyptians, and Radames, captain of

Wojciech K´pczyƒski

the Egyptian army engaged to Amneris, daughter of the pharaoh.

The story, based on Giuseppe Verdi’s opera of the same name, is told in a state-of-the-art musical and theatrical form.

Aida premiered on Broadway on March 23, 2000, running for nearly 2,000 performances in over four years. The musical won four Tony awards, including Best Original Score and was named by Time Magazine as one of the top ten theater productions of the year 2000.

The show was later produced in Australia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Canada, Korea, Japan, Peru, Switzerland, as well as Hungary and Italy. The Polish premiere is scheduled for October 26, 2019.

A 44-strong Polish cast of actors, singers and dancers was selected from nearly 500 candidates through open auditions run in March and April.

The main roles were won by Natalia Piotrowska , Anastazja Simiƒska and Basia Gàsienica Giewont (as Aida), Jan Traczyk, Marcin Franc and Pawe∏ Mielewczyk (as Radames) and Zofia Nowakowska, Agnieszka Przekupieƒ and Monika Rygasiewicz (as Amneris).

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

53

Art Communing With Nature Abstract paintings by Eliza Nadulska are on show in a new exhibition at the Abakus Gallery in Warsaw.

The

works are Nadulska’s interpretation of the landscape and phenomena of nature, considered to be, in art history, symbols of the universe and the space. The observed natural elements are however strongly processed and simplified by the artist.

The "vibrated" imaginary landscapes get unreal dimensions as contemplation of the physical nature of attributes, turns the painting process into an individual experience.

Brush strokes and the textures they generate also play a significant role in Nadulska’s paintings. These sorts of treatments result in abstract compositions whose attributes include the expressiveness of the trail left by the brush, the texture of the paint. Above all, however, they emphasise the artist’s joy of communing with nature and building her own emotional space.

A painter, photographer and graphic designer, Nadulska graduated in 1982 from the Faculty of Painting at Warsaw’s Fine Arts Academy. She has exhibited her work at individual exhibitions in Poland and abroad and has also taken part in many collective exhibitions. Her work is part of private and public collections in Poland, Sweden, Great Britain, Switzerland and the United States. She lives and works in Warsaw.

Until September 8; Abakus Gallery; 4 Jezuicka St.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

VOICE - EVENT

54

BRIDGE2SUCCESS FEST

The

guest of honour was Jan Kamras, President of European Bridge League. But before it happened, there were months of preparation. On the website of Bridge2Success everybody could follow the information and the short films about the project.

So there were the best players in the world, who advocated for the event and for bridge in general. Among them Zia Mahmood, the living legend of world bridge, for whom bridge is not a game, it is his life.

“You should play bridge to love it, always asking to yourself, how good can I be? Previously it was said that sky was the limit but as we now have footprints in the Moon, there is no limit as such for any player who remains devoted to the game and takes every training session and tournament seriously”, he said.

One of his ideas is that bridge is similar to life (what I could hear myself on a meeting at the Kozminski Academy in Warsaw and while playing against Zia during the Palace Cup in Warsaw, organized by www.bridge24.pl).

As in life, in bridge you have good and bad moments.

Zia did not participate in Bridge2Success FEST, but supported the idea.

The spacious foyer served as a good place for talks and analysis, in a neighboring room everybody could admire a part of the imposing collection of cards prepared by Andrzej Rzepkowski, who was happy to talk about his passion. And he had many subjects to talk about: not only the different playing cards and different games, but also the stories behind the items he managed to gather during 40 years, his passion for the Queen of Spades and Alice in Wonderland motifs, old card machines, posters, cards in everyday living and many more. For the time being Rzepkowski is a consultant to the Museum of the Games, organized in Gdynia by TREFL. As not everybody could come to Warsaw, the others had the possibility of playing via internet on Funbridge. Among “the others” there were 49 pairs from Rijeka and 24 pairs from New York. And also… computers (brought by Gérard Joyez from France, the initiator of the www.bridgez.net).

Among 666 participants, the best computer took the 25. place. Bridge remains the only game, where computers cannot beat a man. And why? Because people are unpredictable.

I was trying to encourage my friends from Greece to participate, and thanks to that I met some very nice people from the Greek Bridge Club of Kavala. Coming back from a trip to Thassos, I stopped there and thanks to the openheartedness of Dimitris Tsekmezoglou, the founder of the club, I could play in a tournament at Lucy hotel. The atmosphere was very good. I also had a great surprise: at one table I met a nice couple who asked where I was from and then started to speak Polish to me! 40 years ago they studied in ¸ódê, there they began to learn bridge, then abandoned it (work, kids - as many people do) to come back to the club later (as also many people do, we have over 300 Bridge60+ clubs in Poland and this idea of Marek Ma∏ysa is spreading the wings all over Europe ). So it is another example of bridge being a real bridge between the nations and generations.

But lets come back to Bridge2Success FEST.The youngest player Karol De Bonis was 9 years old, the nestor Kazimierz Przymusiƒski from Warsaw - is 92 and does not say pass.

After the tournament there was a great concert: Brass Federacja, violinist Konstanty Andrzej Kulka with Camerata Vistula and singer Urszula Dudziak.

And all this thanks to the energy and passion of the Sztuka i Pasja Foundation (with Grzegorz Chmielewski as the boss) and the initiative of Joanna Chmielewska and El˝bieta Tomczuk, who brought the whole idea, supported

by Polish Bridge Union.

Looking forward to the next edition, in 2020! Good luck!

Ma∏gorzata Maruszkin Polish Bridge Union spokesperson B2S opening: Witold Stachnik, President of PBU, Jan Kamras, President of EBL, El˝bieta Tomczuk, Grzegorz Chmielewski and Urszula Baranowska, Sztuka i Pasja Foundation.

Kamil Struzik

The Bridge2Success FEST has started on the 11 of May. Thanks to the hospitality of the elegant GlobalEXPO in Warsaw, 171 pairs of bridge players could enjoy the game there. But not only them: nonplaying guests also found many interesting things to do.

Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition

28 – 30 August 2019 G2A Arena - Rzeszów

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Buy a set of Continental summer tyres is sizes from 17 inches Register your purchase and complete the competition task at contiuhp.pl Come with us to France!

Black Chili Driving Experience is a three-day trip in exclusive cars along the most beautiful routes of Provence, the Alps and the French Riviera. Breath-taking views, local cuisine and Continental Ultra High Performance technology provide unforgettable emotions.

Find out more at contiuhp.pl A condition for participation in the competition is the purchase of a set of Continental summer tyres size 17-inch or above. The purchase should be made within the period 18.03-6.05.2019. Registration is possible in the period 18.03-12.05.2019. Competition rules are available at contiuhp.pl/konkurs