In Poland, a new commission is to examine Russia’s influence on national politics. But Washington fears that this will reduce the general election. Brussels is threatening the consequences.
The EU and US on Tuesday slammed Poland over a law setting up a new commission of inquiry into Russia’s influence on Polish politics over the past 15 years.
Critics accuse the national conservative PiS government of wanting to discredit the former prime minister and current opposition leader Donald Tusk just a few months before the parliamentary elections in autumn. The Foreign Ministry dismissed the reactions from abroad as “misinterpretation”.
EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders described the project in Brussels as “particularly worrying”. A committee had been created by law that could deprive Polish citizens of the right to be elected to public office without judicial review. We will not hesitate to take action. The government in Warsaw has been at odds with the EU Commission for years over a controversial judicial reform.
US expresses concerns
The US State Department warned that the law could be “misused to interfere with free and fair elections in Poland”. “We share the concern expressed by many observers that this law (…) could be used to prevent opposition politicians from running for office without due process.”
President Andrzej Duda signed the 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. The commission is to be composed of nine members appointed by the lower house of parliament. The PiS has the majority there.
The liberal conservative Tusk was the head of the Polish government from 2007 to 2014 and later the President of the Council of the European Union. The PiS government accuses him of having concluded unfavorable gas contracts with Russia. Tusk leads Poland’s largest opposition party, Civic Platform. He is considered the biggest political opponent of PiS boss Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Source: Stern
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