Logo Polskiego Radia

European Commission announces debate on Poland

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 04.01.2016 12:13
The European Commission has announced that it will hold a debate on “the rule of law in Poland” on 13 January.
The European Commission's headquarters at the Berlaymont building, Brussels.   Photo: wikimedia commons/Sebastien Bertrand.The European Commission's headquarters at the Berlaymont building, Brussels. Photo: wikimedia commons/Sebastien Bertrand.

A statement was released in reference to a new bill on public media that enables the government to dismiss the supervisory and management bodies of television station TVP and Polskie Radio (Polish Radio).

Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans has sent two letters to the Polish government asking for clarification on the bill, which was passed by the Senate on 31 December.

The Commission's so-called 'rule of law mechanism' is supposed to address threats to the EU's core values.

Many reasons exist for us to activate the 'Rule of Law mechanism' and for us to place Warsaw under monitoring,” EU Commissioner Gunther Oettinger told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper.

The debate will potentially be the first part of a three-step process. The EU could ultimately strip Poland of some of its rights under the Treaty of the European Union.

However, the Commission has said it is too early to speculate on Poland's case.

Poland's new public media legislation, which was created by the conservative Law and Justice party that won the 25 October general election, went through the lower house of parliament (Sejm) on 27 December.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has called on President of Poland Andrzej Duda not to sign the bill.

Meanwhile, Poland's foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski has told German newspaper Bild that there has been “25 years of left-wing and liberal indoctrination” in the media. (nh)

Print
Copyright © Polskie Radio S.A About Us Contact Us