The European Commission and the United States said they were "concerned" by Poland's adoption of a law on the creation of a commission on Russian influence that could "interfere with free elections" in the autumn, accusations rejected by Warsaw.
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We are particularly concerned about the adoption of a new law in Poland on a special committee that would allow (...) to deprive citizens of their right to hold elected office without any legal recourse," EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said on Tuesday.
Unconstitutional
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We can ask ourselves whether we still respect the rules of access to justice, the rules of access to an independent judge when we are the subject of an administrative decision, "continued the official, stressing that the European Commission "will not hesitate to take initiatives if the law is actually in force and poses this type of problem".
For its part, the United States denounced a law "that could be abused to interfere with free and fair elections in Poland," according to a State Department statement Monday night. Washington shares "the concerns expressed by many observers that this law (...) could be used to block the candidacies of opposition politicians without due process."
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On Monday, the Polish president gave the green light to the creation of a commission of inquiry into "Russian influence in Poland", an entity described as "unconstitutional" and "Stalinist" by the opposition and many lawyers, in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in the autumn. Composed of nine members chosen by a lower house dominated by the populist nationalist camp in power, the commission will be able to decide whether the country's politicians or any other person have succumbed to Russian influence in the years 2007-2022, and condemn them, without effective judicial control, observers warn.
The person found guilty may be banned from holding public positions related to access to public finances and classified information for ten years. According to the Polish populist government, such a Commission is essential to eliminate Russian influence in Poland, a loyal ally of Ukraine attacked by Moscow.
'Objective truth'
In a statement on Tuesday, the Polish Foreign Ministry stressed "strongly that the drafting of these provisions is the sovereign competence of the Polish Parliament," while saying it was ready to explain to Poland's allies "overinterpretations and doubts" about the law. He assured that the commission will proceed "according to the principle of objective truth, analyzing all available evidence".
According to the ministry, the work of the commission would not limit "the ability of voters to vote for their candidates in elections", while the law provides for "an appeal to an administrative court in the context of a two-instance procedure", a purely symbolic measure according to the opposition and lawyers. "Poland highly values its alliance with the United States and is open to pursuing further dialogue through diplomatic channels," the ministry said.
The opposition qualifies the text as "lex Tusk" (Tusk law) named after the leader of the main centrist opposition party Civic Platform (PO), Donald Tusk, former Polish Prime Minister in 2007-2014 then President of the European Council, bête noire of the government in place. According to her, the law is intended to compromise the opponents of the government in place and prevent Donald Tusk from winning the autumn election.
In its statement, the State Department also called on "the Polish government to ensure that this law does not prevent voters from voting for the candidate of their choice and that it is not invoked or misused in ways that affect the perceived legitimacy of the elections."
