Erdoğan to visit Hungary, Polish election campaign kicks into high gear  

Polish official election campaign ahead of the 15 October parliamentary vote has kicked off in earnest, with the ruling Law and Justice’s leader Jarosław Kaczyński accusing the opposition of being traitors who are soft on security and would sell out Poland to foreign interests.

Upcoming on Visegrad Insight:

• Volodymyr Yermolenko explores the lawlessness of Russian occupied territories.
• Gabriela Greilinger analyses the Hungarian government’s crackdown on the education system.

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• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit Hungary on 20 August to discuss “security issues”, a Hungarian government spokesman said.
• Hungary and Turkey are the only two hold-outs on approving Sweden’s NATO membership. Turkey has been trying to act as a broker between Ukraine and Russia, while Hungary has been the EU’s most outspoken pro-Moscow voice.
• Russia vows to boost defences at borders with NATO states, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday. He said the “militarisation of Poland” and Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership destabilised Russia’s security.
• The Italian government backtracked on a surprise plan to impose a windfall tax on banks after the stock market and Italian bonds took a hit. Windfall profits of energy utilities and banks have become a politically popular talking point across Europe. In the run-up to the Polish election, leftist parties pledged to push for it if they were part of the next cabinet, and Bulgaria’s new government is also weighing imposing it.
• EU companies are increasing their gas storage capacity in Ukraine, FT reports.
• Poland sued the EU over two planks of the “Fit for 55 package” relating to the border carbon tax and the revamped green certificates system, saying the measures endangered Poland’s energy security.

Russian rouble down, Ukraine bonds up 

UKRAINE