The EU and the US denounce the controversial Polish commission of inquiry

He European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, denounced on Tuesday the creation in Poland of a commission of inquiry into the “Russian influence”, capable of condemning politicians without the control of a judge. He has threatened Warsaw with infringement proceedings.

“We are particularly concerned about the adoption of a new law in Poland on a special committee that would allow (…) depriving citizens of their right to hold elected office without the possibility of legal recourse”declared the Belgian commissioner upon his arrival at a meeting of European Affairs ministers in Brussels.

“The question arises of whether the rules of access to justice, the rules of access to an independent judge, continue to be respected when an administrative decision is made”he went on.

The European Commission “will not hesitate to take initiatives if the law is actually in force and raises these types of problems”he warned, thus posing the threat of new infringement proceedings against Poland.

Duda announced this Monday at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw that he has signed the proposal, which after being previously approved by Parliament and rejected by the Senate, depended on a presidential decision to enter into force or not.

“The (possible) Russian influence requires clarification”Duda said, “and the Polish people must know how their representatives acted on issues of great importance during the last two decades”he added.

The parliamentary commission on the influence of Russia in the Polish governments between 2007 and 2022 will be created at the proposal of the government party and will be made up of the president of the Executive, Mateusz Morawiecki, and eight parliamentarians of his choice.

Its official objective will be to clarify possible interference by the Kremlin in Polish politics in those years and to punish “those responsible for acting under the influence of Russia to the detriment of the interests of Poland”such as when signing import contracts, or when granting public projects to people or companies linked to Moscow.

Among the powers of this commission will be to impose the disqualification from holding public office that implies access to state funds for 10 years to those found guilty, without the possibility of appeal.

In addition, this body may require the appearance, as many times as it deems necessary, of whoever is being investigated, under a fine of 11,000 euros if they do not cooperate.

On the other hand, this commission will be authorized to access classified documents, order records and gather evidence, despite having a parliamentary and non-judicial character.

The first report of this commission will be presented on September 17, when Poland will be in full electoral campaign.

The opposition has denounced that these circumstances will be used by the Government to harm its rivals, especially the leader of the centrist Civic Platform (PO), Donald Tusk, who presided over the Polish Government between 2007 and 2014 and will be one of the main investigated.

The US fears that the Polish commission on Russia will be used against the opposition

The spokesman for the Department of State, Matthew Miller, indicated in a statement the fear that it could be misused to interfere in the development of an election. “free and fair” in that country.

“We share the concerns expressed by many observers that this law to create a commission to investigate Russian influence could be used to block opposition politicians from running.”said.

For this reason, from Washington an appeal was made to the Polish Executive to guarantee that it does not annul “the ability of voters to vote for the candidate of their choice” and that it is not used in a way that could affect the legitimacy of the elections.