Joint statement by Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Mateusz Morawiecki

Global challenges and international order are the main themes of this year's Munich Security Conference. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki participated in a panel on East-West relations and regional security. The discussion among heads of state and government, foreign and defence ministers, parliamentarians as well as representatives of the media and academia on current international security issues continues.

Thanks to government support amounting to 60% of the investment value, the newly built facilities will meet the highest standards of medical assistance. The creation of the new Medical Air Rescue base is accompanied by the construction and modernisation of the adjacent road infrastructure. Almost PLN 4 million, accounting for 80% of the funds for this project, comes from the state budget.

In the last two years alone, the Government Road Construction Fund has allowed completing 14,000 km of road investment projects supported by nearly PLN 10 billion worth of funding. This means an improvement in road safety and a systematic increase in the attractiveness of more areas for new investments. Today, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the results of another call for municipalities and districts across Poland. In total, this translates into PLN 2.7 billion funds for building new and renovating existing local roads with a total length of 3.9 thousand km. The support for local self-governments' activities will enable the creation of a coherent and integrated road transport system throughout the country.

On 14 February, the President of the European Council held a videoconference with the heads of government of Poland, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands and Slovakia. The talks primarily concerned the issue of security in the region, with a particular focus on Russia’s actions towards Ukraine.

The government strives to equalise development opportunities across Poland. During his visit to the Zatory Educational Facility, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki signed an agreement on grants for “Supporting children and grandchildren of state farm workers in digital development”. Valued at more than PLN 500 million, the new grant launched under Operational Programme Digital Poland aims to improve the accessibility of computers and the internet for residents of former state-owned farms. As many as 1,606 municipalities have already applied for co-financing and are set to purchase more than 215,000 pieces of electronics. The project is financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

On 10 February 2022, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki met in Warsaw with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Boris Johnson's visit is a proof of allied solidarity in bilateral relations and in NATO, in the face of threats to European security. Prime Ministers discussed security in the region, particularly with regard to Russia's actions against Ukraine. After the meeting at the Prime Minister's Office, both prime ministers visited British and Polish soldiers at the military base in Wesoła.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki took part in the Sejm Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. In the presence of parliament members and representatives of the farming community, he spoke about the opportunities and challenges faced by the rural areas in Poland. The topics discussed included fertiliser subsidies, the fight against the ASF virus and agricultural processing. Moreover, the Prime Minister pledged support to farmers. He also pointed out that the government addresses the current problems faced by the rural areas in Poland.

The fight against the pandemic continues. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has recently established a COVID-19 Council comprising experts in various fields of medicine and socio-economic sciences. The Council’s sessions will also be attended by representatives of the Ministry of Health and other institutions, including the National Health Fund and the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. Its primary tasks will be to analyse Poland’s current health situation, as well as the social and economic conditions prevailing nationwide. Furthermore, the Council will also proposals for actions to be taken to fight the pandemic.

7 February marks the anniversary of the death of Jan Olszewski, a prominent Polish politician, participant in the Warsaw Uprising and anti-communist opposition activist. To honour him, a conference room at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister has been named after him.