EU Commission to look into anti-TVN bill

At a press conference in Brussels on Friday, the EU Commission was asked about the proposed changes to Poland's Broadcasting Act.

"We are indeed aware of the legislative proposal changing the rules on broadcasting concessions in Poland. We need to look into the draft in more detail and we will monitor whether it proceeds towards adoption. We expect member states, of course, to ensure that their policies do not affect the commitment to ensuring a free, independent and diverse media ecosystem. In this context we are also monitoring very closely, the situation related to the TVN24 channel, whose licence has not been renewed yet" - the spokesperson for the EU Commission Christian Wigand said.

"We are following with growing concern the situation with media freedom and pluralism in Poland. Those concerns we have already made well known, they have been outlined in the rule of law report, in its latest edition" - he added.

The spokesman also stressed that because the rule of law reporting was carried out in annual cycle, in the 2021 edition that was to be published soon, the Commission would "again look into relevant aspects of media pluralism in Poland".

"Let me remind you that the Commission indeed attaches great importance to media freedom and pluralism. They are vital to hold governments accountable and to monitor democratic processes. Media should be able to act freely and independently everywhere in the European Union" - said the EU Commission spokesman Christian Wigand.

The draft amendment to the Broadcasting Act was put forward on Wednesday by a group PiS lawmakers. In the document, they stipulated, among other things, that: "Licence to broadcast radio and television programmes can only be granted to a foreign entity, whose seat or permanent residence is located in a European Economic Area member state, provided that such foreign entity is not dependent on a foreign entity, whose seat or permanent residence are located in a state that is not a member of the European Economic Area". The authors of the bill are represented by PiS MP Marek Suski.

TVN is in ongoing talks with the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) regarding extension of its broadcasting license. TVN is owned by American concern Discovery, which manages the station through Polish Television Holding BV, a company registered in the Netherlands.