Listen to the news

Polish President Andrzej Duda has authorized the creation of a commission to investigate "Russian influence in Poland." The opposition and a number of legal experts have already called the new body "unconstitutional" and "Stalinist".

All opposition parties from the left, from the center and even from the far right have said they will not participate in the work of this committee, which, according to Szymon Holownia, chairman of the centrist Poland 2050 party, marks the "end of democracy" in Poland. He added that it was pushing the country into a "civil war".

The committee will have nine members elected from the lower house of the conservative nationalist-dominated parliament. It will be able to decide whether politicians in the country have succumbed to Russian influence in the period 2007-2022 and make decisions against them, without effective control over all this by the judiciary, observers warn. A person found guilty could be barred from holding public positions related to access to public finances and classified information for a period of 10 years to "prevent him from again acting under Russian influence to the detriment of the interests of the Republic of Poland," the law says. The head of the commission will be appointed by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Its members will not be responsible for their decisions.

According to the government, such a commission is essential to eliminate Russian influence in the country. "I hope that parliament will responsibly elect the members of the commission," President Duda said.

Poland is preparing six more fighter jets for Ukraine

Poland's parliament is controlled by the Law and Justice (PiS) party and its allies. Duda himself is a member of that majority, AFP recalls.

The president added that he would send the law to the Constitutional Court after the fact, a procedure that does not prevent its entry into force. Duda also announced that he would ask Morawiecki to propose to the European Council to set up a commission to investigate Russian influence at European level.

Critics of the new text say the creation of the new structure violates constitutional principles of separation of political and judicial powers, with the body acquiring the powers of both prosecutor and court. The opposition calls the text "The Tusk Act" after Donald Tusk, the leader of the main centrist opposition Civic Platform party. He served as Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014 and then President of the European Council. According to the opposition, the purpose of the law is actually to compromise opponents of the government and prevent Tusk from winning elections in the autumn.

Poland

Andrzej Duda

law

Russian Influence