Polish authorities have announced that German police detained two Turkish citizens suspected of setting fire to a Starlink station near Warsaw last month.

Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister coordinating the special services, told a news conference in Warsaw on Monday that Poland has requested the suspects’ extradition and has “no doubt” that Russian secret services were behind the arson attack.

“It should also be noted that Russian intelligence agencies are increasingly turning to people linked to the criminal underworld,” Siemoniak said at the press conference.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the incident as another “act of hybrid warfare” and said those responsible for the sabotage would be brought to justice in Poland.

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said the two Turkish citizens would be charged in Poland with carrying out an act of sabotage on the orders of a foreign intelligence agency.

Power supply equipment at a Starlink ground station serving Eastern Europe, including Poland and Ukraine, caught fire on the night of 23 September.

The incident did not cause a major disruption to internet service. The blaze, however, completely destroyed the station’s electrical system and backup generator.

Poland, a key transit route for Western aid to Ukraine, has faced a series of suspicious incidents recently.

Numerous cyberattacks have targeted public utilities, including water and energy infrastructure as well as hospitals.

In addition, damage to a railway line between Warsaw and the Ukrainian border was attributed by officials to Russian sabotage.

In late July, a Russian missile also landed in Poland.

A new study prepared by the Hellenic Observatory at the London School of Economics (LSE) has examined the structural transformation of the Greek economy following the bailout era.

According to reporting by the Greek Reporter, the study titled “The Café Economy”, authored by Michalis Nikiforos, Vlassis Missos, Christos Perros, and Nikolaos Rodousakis, revealed that the country has become excessively dependent on Accommodation and Food Service Activities (AFSA), a sector encompassing all tourism-related fields including restaurants, bars, hotels, entertainment, and short-term rentals.

The researchers pointed to a fundamental issue that is often overlooked behind the “café economy” characterisation. According to the study, despite promises of a new “development model”, Greece has over the last 15 years remained trapped in a growth cycle built on an exceptionally fragile foundation.

Labour productivity declined as tourism expanded

The study reported that following austerity policies and structural reforms that liberalised labour and product markets, tourism-linked activities expanded disproportionately compared to other sectors. This unbalanced growth became one of the primary drivers of the economy’s broader loss of productivity.

Contrary to the productivity gains promised by bailout reforms, an opposite trend took hold across the Greek economy. While labour productivity suffered a steep decline, employment shifted toward low-productivity sectors, led by accommodation and food services.

The researchers identified the contraction in aggregate demand and the sharp erosion of real wages as the main causes of this productivity collapse. Between 2009 and 2024, labour productivity fell by 16% and remained below pre-crisis levels.

The slide in real wages was even more pronounced. Across the country, real wages dropped by between 26% and 35%, while losses in the tourism sector reached as high as 60%. The authors described this outcome as a severe process of income redistribution operating against labour.

The shift of employment toward the AFSA sector accounted for approximately one-third of the total decline in labour productivity. The loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in productive sectors such as manufacturing, alongside the scarcity of employment in high-technology and innovation fields, deepened this decline.

Greece enters regression under a dual model

According to the study, Greece’s development model is displaying a historical regression by evolving into a “dual” structure typically observed in underdeveloped or transition economies. In this model, economic growth relies on deploying labour, cheapened through wage suppression, into low-productivity sectors.

Noting that the three bailout programmes implemented between 2010 and 2018 triggered a deep recession instead of boosting competitiveness, the researchers stated that the Greek economy has never fully emerged from this slump.

The study also recalled that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had in the past apologised for underestimating the negative impacts of severe fiscal contraction.

Educated young population works in low-wage jobs

Data published by the LSE showed that the workforce in the AFSA sector underwent a fundamental transformation between 2009 and 2023:

Employment in the sector surged by 87%. Gross Value Added recorded 11% growth. AFSA became the largest employer in the Greek economy.

On the other hand, the sector is characterised by low wages, precarious working conditions, and an increase in part-time work. Although the educational attainment of tourism employees has risen, workers are increasingly employed below their qualifications.

Eurostat figures confirm that Greece, behind Spain, has one of the highest rates in Europe of young graduates who are overqualified yet employed in unskilled jobs.

More than 86% of young university graduates working in the tourism and hospitality sector are employed below their qualification levels.

Structural risks deepen while external balance improves

The report titled “The Café Economy” listed the advantages along with the severe vulnerabilities generated by this development path:

The positive effect emerged in the external balance. The tourism sector provided a significant contribution to correcting the current account balance. The trade surplus in travel services rose by five percentage points between 2009 and 2023, covering approximately half of the total current account deficit contraction over the same period.

Conversely, overreliance on tourism and a low-productivity, low-wage, labour-intensive services economy brought heavy structural weaknesses:

Social and environmental degradation: The disproportionate growth of the sector lays the ground for environmental and cultural deterioration, frequently described through the concept of “overtourism”.

Housing crisis: The proliferation of short-term rentals and foreign property acquisitions drives up rents, making housing costs unaffordable for local workers.

External dependence: As the café economy expands at the expense of other sectors, reliance on external demand and seasonal fluctuations multiplies; entire regions remain exposed to shifts in tourist flows.

The researchers warned that low-wage policies erode economic competitiveness over the long term by weakening incentives for technological innovation and progress.

Noting that the thesis claiming market liberalisation automatically delivers productivity has been undermined by the Greek experience, the study stated that dependence on low-productivity sectors such as AFSA creates an economic dilemma. Even if these activities support demand and foreign currency inflows, they damage long-term productivity and social sustainability.

The report noted: “A successful way out for Greece requires policies that do not merely stimulate demand, but also strategically promote high-productivity sectors, support technological upgrading, and ensure inclusive growth. Without such a change of course, the ‘café economy’ risks becoming not a temporary adjustment process, but a long-term stagnation equilibrium.”

The study concluded with a call to re-evaluate structural reforms in light of real economic and institutional conditions, and to prioritise development focused on high productivity.

The Polish government’s announcement regarding an reported assassination plot targeting Prime Minister Donald Tusk alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has triggered a sharp backlash across opposition ranks.

Politicians affiliated with Law and Justice (PiS), Confederation (Konfederacja), and Rozwój Plus accused the administration of stoking panic over a security issue, staging a political spectacle, and deliberately seeking to divert attention from troublesome matters facing the cabinet.

According to reporting by journalists, the notification concerning the assassination threat was sent via email, arriving initially in the inbox of the State Protection Service (SOP).

Following receipt of the alert, authorities convened an assessment meeting, where government representatives decided to disclose the development to the public.

Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for the Minister-Coordinator of Special Services operating within the Prime Minister’s Office, announced the alleged assassination preparations against Tusk and Kosiniak-Kamysz during a morning briefing on 11 October.

Noting that the threat directed at Tusk was “deadly serious”, Dobrzyński stated: “I know that today, across many channels, so-called experts are speaking with distrust and asking why we made this matter public. We announced it because, I stress, the matter is deadly serious. We are speaking about a high probability of these threats being carried out.”

Suspect detained shortly afterwards

The male individual alleged to have issued the threats targeting the prime minister and the defence minister was apprehended by security forces shortly after the developments unfolded.

Posting on his social media account, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “I thank the police officers for their swift and decisive intervention.”

Minister of the Interior Marcin Kierwiński stated that the suspect had been identified through the analysis of online data. Polish authorities did not disclose extensive details regarding operational aspects of the investigation.

The press conference held by the government concerning the threat alert and the subsequent public statements were nonetheless subjected to fierce criticism by opposition figures.

Opposition parties allege political manoeuvring

Addressing the method of the threat alert and the manner of its presentation to the public, Confederation leader Sławomir Mentzen observed: “If Prime Minister Tusk received death threats by email, unfortunately nothing can be done about it. I too have repeatedly received death threats via email. Because the sender could not be traced, the police discontinued the investigation every single time.”

Mentzen added: “Even so, I hope Donald Tusk gets lucky and that the intelligence services manage to succeed specifically in his case.”

PiS lawmaker Radosław Fogiel criticised the development using sarcastic language: “Immediately in the first sitting of the Sejm, a bill banning the use of email will arrive. If the president refuses to sign it, they will be left with spam on their hands.”

PiS Senator Stanisław Karczewski contended that the government was generating panic: “They are playing big; they are pursuing a tactic of spreading panic. They will feed more and more matters of this sort until, by 2027, they declare that holding parliamentary elections is impossible on security grounds.”

Confederation Member of the European Parliament Stanisław Tyszka posted: “It has been announced that an assassination of Donald Tusk and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz was planned. The photograph is unrelated”, attaching an image featuring Prime Minister Tusk alongside Deputy Minister of Agriculture Michał Kołodziejczak, who faces allegations of mistreating colleagues.

PiS lawmaker Andrzej Śliwka stressed that he never downplays attempted attacks against politicians and that every comparable case must be examined rigorously, while noting: “However, these gentlemen have State Protection Service protection precisely to prevent such occurrences.

The public notification by Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for the Minister-Coordinator of Special Services, looks like a cry of helplessness and a symptom of panic.”

Pointing to the timing of the announcement, Śliwka argued that the notification coincided with the second round of local mayoral elections in Krakow, public anxiety among parents over sending children to school due to government policies, and the public exposure of scandalous and criminal conduct surrounding Michał Kołodziejczak, who operates under Tusk’s political patronage.

Śliwka said: “Donald Tusk is a pragmatic and cynical politician; today he will try to depict himself as a victim. Yet this situation exempts him neither from responsibility for his own government’s actions and omissions nor from the individuals he brought into politics.”

Confederation representative Marcin Możdżonek criticised the government’s institutional reactions: “An email arrived stating that an assassination of the prime minister and the deputy prime minister was planned. They decided that informing the public was imperative. No person of common sense can understand the concrete and professional justification for this notification, yet everyone knows its demagogic motive very well. Unless it was a coincidence, only the supervisors handling the file know the justification for publicly disclosing the meeting venue, participants, and timing for officials serving in critical roles. If this information was disseminated without understanding what was being done, there is no justification, only one explanation: a government composed of populist, incompetent, and token figures.”

Underlining the gravity of the topic, PiS lawmaker Bartłomiej Wróblewski posted: “The matter is serious; I am not taking it lightly. I will deliver my assessment on Monday. For now, I ask about the Michał Kołodziejczak issue. Will Donald Tusk apologise?”, making reference to statements by the Civic Coalition leader concerning past audio-recording controversies.

Rozwój Plus lawmaker Monika Pawłowska argued that the authorities were using threat alerts to cover up political crises, stating: “Donald Tusk and the people under his command are turning the Polish state into a circus. These media games and public relations chatter cannot conceal the incompetence of these people. They must resign.”