Poland passes law on media control, ignores EU again

Polish MPs have passed a law on reform of public media despite growing EU and wider international criticism over democratic standards.

The lower chamber, on Wednesday (30 December) passed the bill by 232 votes against 152, with 34 abstentions.

It still has to be passed by the upper house and signed by the president, but both organs of state are controlled by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, which took power in October.

The media bill terminates the tenure of the current management of public TV and radio broadcasters and gives the government the power to install its own people. It also limits the number of independent supervisory board members.

The MPs took the decision despite a letter from European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans, sent earlier on Wednesday, to the Polish foreign and justice ministers.

Timmermans asked them to explain how the new law meets EU standards on free speech under article 2 of the EU treaty, article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and a 2010 EU directive on audiovisual services.

“Freedom and pluralism of the media are crucial for a pluralist society in a member state respectful of the common values on which the union is founded,” he said.

The OSCE, a European rights watchdog, and European journalists’ associations, echoed the concerns.

Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE’s media freedom chief, said: “I fear the hastily introduced changes will endanger the basic conditions of independence, objectivity and impartiality of public service broadcasters … I urge the Polish government to withdraw the proposal.”

Five of Europe’s biggest journalist groups, one day earlier, said: “If the Polish Parliament passes these measures … Poland will create a regressive regime which will be without precedent in any other EU country.”

The letter was signed by the European Federation of Journalists, the European Broadcasting Union, the Association of European Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Krzysztofa Lufta, the head of Poland’s National Broadcasting Council, the KRRiT, speaking after Wednesday’s vote, called it a “black day in the history of Polish media.”

The criticism was rejected out of hand by PiS chiefs, however.

Witold Waszczykowski, the Polish foreign minister, said Wednesday evening on Timmermans’ appeal that “no such letter has reached my office.”

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the PiS party chief, said negative media coverage of the devlopments in Poland and beyond is due to the fact that “most of our media are in the hands of German owners” and represents the “defence of a privileged system, in which media … exert too big an infuece on public life.”

Speaking on Radio Maryja, a PiS-loyal broadcaster linked to a right-wing Roman Catholic group, he also attacked the head of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, Andrzej Rzeplinski.

The PiS government, earlier this week, passed a law extending political control over the tribunal despite EU complaints.

Rzeplinski said on Wednesday the tribunal will, on 12 January, issue an opinion on the legality of the reforms. He said it will take it decision based on the pre-reform quorum of judges and pre-reform composition of the tribunal’s members.

Kaczynski said: “In my personal opinion, I would treat this as his [Rzeplinski’s] resignation from the … tribunal.”

The constitutional dispute, also on Wednesday, prompted critical remarks from the US.

Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said it’s not true the US will cancel a Nato summit, due in Poland in July, or that president Barack Obama will put off a meeting with his Polish counterpart.

But he added: “We are concerned - we care deeply about the character, the quality of Poland’s democracy. And this is a conversation that we feel we can have with the Polish people, with the Polish government.”

Two former Polish foreign ministers, Gregorz Schetyna, from the opposition Civic Platform party, and Adam Rotfeld, a left-wing politician, said the PiS actions threaten to harm Poland’s international image.

“Poland’s position, Poland’s brand, Poland’s success - symbols of great achievements, which took place in recent years - are suddenly ending and the opinion of Poland, in a very concrete way, is chaning in Europe,” Schetyna said in parliament on Wednesday.

Rotfeld told press: “If it comes to a rupture between Poland and the EU it will be due to internal [Polish] reasons.”

He compared Poland under PiS to Austria when Jorg Haider's far-right was in government, which was stigmatised by the EU Council, adding: “Values play a very important role in the EU - democracy and rule of law are key issues.”