Polish President Andrzej Duda has announced that he will sign the controversial bill, which provides for the creation of a special commission to investigate Russian influence, writes Politico.
The government of Duda and the Law and Justice party (PiS) has stated that the main goal is to uncover agents of Kremlin influence in Polish politics, however the opposition has already indicated that the commission is being formed to fight political rivals, in particular former Polish prime minister and European Council president Donald Tusk, before the autumn elections.
The decision is expected to worsen Warsaw’s already strained relations with Brussels. The EC is
concerned about the Polish government’s departure from the bloc’s democratic principles.
The opposition has called the commission a PiS political weapon to get rid of rivals ahead of an election the party could lose. The head of the opposition party Poland 2050 Szymon Hołownia said: “President Andrzej Duda has seriously weakened our country today, internally and externally; he has decided to set off a Polish civil war.” Borys Budka, representative of the civic platform, has warned that the commission’s only real goal will be to fight the opposition.
Plans to create a commission of inquiry have not gone unnoticed by Poland’s main military ally, the US. US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski said on television that the US government is concerned about how the new law could affect voters’ ability to vote for the candidate of their choice.
The nine persons who make up the commission will be chosen and approved by the parliament. The opposition parties have already announced that they will boycott this procedure. The commission will investigate activities carried out between 2007 and 2022 “under the influence of Russia”.
Critics have pointed out that the commission contradicts the constitution because its functions are not precisely defined, decisions are final and commission members are completely protected from criminal liability. All public institutions will be obliged to cooperate with the commission and provide it with information.
The Commission
may decide to prohibit holding positions related to the use of public funds for ten years,
thus prohibiting the candidacy for elections.
The government insists that there are no ulterior motives for setting up the commission. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: “There is nothing to be afraid of. Why is this esteemed opposition of ours, especially Mr. Tusk, so afraid of a commission to verify Russian influence?”
Tusk has invited Poles to participate in mass protests in Warsaw on the 4th of June.