EU Commissioner Warns Poland over Controversial Media Legislation

General view of the plenary hall during the debate on the new national media bill in Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament in Warsaw, Poland, 30 December 2015. Photo EPA/BGNES

EU Commissioner Gunther Oettinger has warned Poland that it risks to be put under monitoring for passing controversial legislation that would give the country’s conservative government the right to appoint the heads of public broadcasters.  

"Many reasons exist for us to activate the 'Rule of Law mechanism' and for us to place Warsaw under monitoring," Oettinger said in an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) on Sunday, according to AFP.

The warning by Oettinger, who is EU Commissioner in charge of the digital economy and society, followed the adoption of a new bill in Parliament on Wednesday that would give the powers to the treasury minister to replace the heads of the Polish public radio and television broadcasters by any other candidates.

The launch of an infringement procedure against Poland over the “violation of common European values” by the Commission could eventually see the country lose its voting rights at the European Council, according to FAZ.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has put the issue on the agenda of the next meeting of the Commission on 13 January, the German newspaper said.

The bill, which terminates the office of the current management of the public broadcasters, has been condemned by rights groups and journalists' associations including the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Reporters Without Borders.

The EBU has called on Poland’s President Andrzej Duda to refrain from signing the new bill into law.

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