EU, US concerned new Polish law on Russian influence to affect election

Reuters
Updated ·2 min read
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FILE PHOTO: European flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels,

BRUSSELS/WARSAW (Reuters) -The European Commission and U.S. State Department have expressed concern about a new Polish law they say could effectively ban individuals deemed to have acted under Russian influence from holding public office without providing proper judicial review.

The law, which Poland's president on Monday said he would sign into law, was developed by the nationalist ruling PiS party ahead of a parliamentary election due in October or November.

Poland's foreign ministry rejected the criticism, saying the law provided for "due process in a fair procedure".

Under the law, a commission investigating the 2007-2022 period will have the power to ban people found to have acted under Russian influence from holding security clearance or working in roles where they would be responsible for public funds for 10 years.

That would effectively disqualify them from most public offices.

Strongly criticised as unconstitutional by several judicial organisations, the law is seen by many commentators and opponents as providing the party with a way to block top opposition politicians from taking office if the PiS is ousted.

PiS has accused the previous opposition government of being pro-Russian, for example for buying fuel from Russia, like many countries did before sanctions were imposed. Meanwhile, the opposition denied any wrongdoing and in turn have made allegations of pro-Russian influence in the PiS.

The European Commission said it was concerned by the law and would not hesitate to take action, if necessary.

"This new law raises concerns that it could be used to affect the possibility of individuals to run for public office, without fair trial," it said in a statement.

The U.S State Department said it was concerned the law "could be misused to interfere with Poland's free and fair elections" and block opposition politicians' candidacy without due process.

Poland's foreign ministry said the law would not limit voters' choice but would provide them with "wider access to information about matters crucial to national security".

Any party subject to the commission's decision will have the right to appeal in an administrative court, the ministry said.

Lawyers from the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights said judicial control would be "illusory" as administrative courts may only rule on procedural issues, but not on the substance of a decision.

It said the commission would have considerable discretion in applying the law, which, paired with the limited judicial control, provided "another argument proving that Polish legislators had violated the right to fair trial".

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Additional reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Giles Elgood, Conor Humphries and Alison Wlliams)