President Andrzej Duda announced that he had decided to veto the budget-related act for 2024, which included, among other things, PLN 3 billion for public media. “There cannot be consent to this in view of the flagrant violation of the Constitution and the principles of a democratic state of law,” he emphasized. He announced that he would submit his own project.
“Public media must first be repaired reliably and in accordance with the law,” the president wrote.
Duda announced that after the holidays he would “immediately submit his own project to the Sejm, regarding, among other things, pay raises for teachers and other expenses planned in the budget-related act.”
“An attempt to finance public media using a budget-related bill (by the parliamentary majority) is unacceptable in the current situation. In my bill, all other budget expenditures – including salary increases for teachers – will be maintained,” he assured.
Grabiec: the president hit the fence with a bullet
The president’s announcement was commented on by Jan Grabiec, head of the prime minister’s office, on TVN24. – The president’s decision is absurd and harmful. The president is referring to the funds transferred to public television, and they have been transferred annually for the last six years PIS. At the moment when changes take place and journalists return to TVP, the president would like to cut off financing – he said.
He said that “this is an absurd way of acting, because Prime Minister Tusk has already announced that television will not be financed in this way, that there will be no transfer of bonds from the state budget to finance public media as part of the reserve created by PiS, and these funds will go to for the treatment of children.
– The president hit the fence with a bullet. There is no problem that the president is talking about. This “Christmas gift” in the form of blocking pay raises for teachers, administration and uniformed services is becoming a real problem – he added.
Budget-related Act
The Act on special solutions for the implementation of the Budget Act for 2024, i.e. the budget-related Act, regulates a number of issues related to the proper implementation of the budget, including ensuring the correct financing of certain state tasks. It was adopted by the Sejm on Thursday and by the Senate on Friday.
The act includes provisions regarding a 30% salary increase for teachers, which are intended to ensure an increase in teachers’ salaries by at least PLN 1,500. Additional provisions also serve to increase the base amount for beginning teachers, so that they also receive raises in the same amount. In addition, the act includes regulations under which PLN 2.3 billion will be transferred to local governments for raises for kindergarten teachers. Local governments will also receive a development subsidy, for which PLN 3.2 billion has been allocated. The Act also includes solutions that enable the transfer of Treasury securities to various entities – universities, the Reprivatization Fund, PKPmining companies and public media.
Main photo source: Leszek Szymański/PAP