BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) – The EU Commission is concerned about a new law in Poland, according to which a new commission is to investigate Russia’s influence on national politics, and is calling for more information. “This new law raises serious concerns about its compatibility with EU law, as it gives an administrative body significant powers that could be used to disqualify people from public office,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders wrote in a letter on Wednesday to the Polish Minister for the EU, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek. According to a spokesman, the letter, which is available to the German Press Agency, was sent at the request of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Reynders called on Szynkowski vel Sek to provide an analysis of the law “as well as all relevant documents relating to the legislative process without delay”. This also includes the statements of relevant parties. “These documents will be important for the Commission’s assessment to decide on possible next steps,” Reynders wrote. According to him, an offer had been made to provide the analysis.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda signed the new law on Monday. According to this, a commission is to examine whether officials made decisions under Russian influence between 2007 and 2022 that harmed the security of the country. It should also be allowed to impose penalties – for example, to block officials from holding public office for up to ten years. According to the law, the commission is to be composed of nine members who are appointed by the lower house of parliament. The ruling PiS has the majority there.
The EU and the USA had already reprimanded Poland for the law on Tuesday. Critics accuse the national conservative PiS government of wanting to discredit former prime minister and current opposition leader Donald Tusk before the parliamentary elections in autumn. The Foreign Ministry dismissed the reactions from abroad as “misinterpretation”. The liberal conservative Tusk was the head of the Polish government from 2007 to 2014 and later the president of the EU. The PiS government accuses him of having concluded unfavorable gas contracts with Russia. Tusk is considered the biggest political opponent of PiS boss Jaroslaw Kaczynski./red/DP/stw