Polish PM unveils major cabinet reshuffle to streamline gov't

WARSAW - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a sweeping government reshuffle on Wednesday, which includes the creation of two new ministries and a significant reduction in the size of the Council of Ministers.

Under the reorganization, a new Ministry of Finance and Economy will be established, to be headed by current Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski. A separate Ministry of Energy will also be formed, with Milosz Motyka, currently deputy minister of climate and environment, appointed as its leader.

Wojciech Balczun will take the helm of the Ministry of State Assets, while Stefan Krajewski, deputy minister of agriculture and rural development, will be promoted to lead the Ministry of Agriculture.

Two existing ministries, the Ministry of Development and Technology, and the Ministry of Industry, will be dissolved as part of the restructuring.

Tusk said the reshuffle aims to improve efficiency and streamline the executive branch. "We will go from having one of the largest governments in Europe to one of the smallest in terms of structure," he said. The total number of ministers and deputy ministers will be reduced to below 100.

The new ministers are expected to be sworn in on Thursday, with the first meeting of the restructured cabinet scheduled for Friday.