"Polish ruling party is on a war path against democracy". EU parliament held a debate on "Lex Tusk"

The European Commission and U.S. State Department have expressed concern about a new Polish law they say could effectively ban individuals deemed to have acted under Russian influence from holding public office without providing proper judicial review.

The law, which Poland's president on Monday said he would sign into law, was developed by the nationalist ruling PiS party ahead of a parliamentary election due in October or November.

Poland's foreign ministry rejected the criticism, saying the law provided for "due process in a fair procedure".

Under the law, a commission investigating the 2007-2022 period will have the power to ban people found to have acted under Russian influence from holding security clearance or working in roles where they would be responsible for public funds for 10 years.

That would effectively disqualify them from most public offices.

In a vote on whether to hold a debate regarding the new Polish, out of a total of 448 MEPs, 344 were in favour, 97 were against, and 7 abstained.

The debate bagan around 7 p.m. Sweden's Minister of Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren, representing Swedish EP Presidency, said "respect for democracy, human rights, and rule of law are crucial for the whole European Union".

"It's natural that all member states need to examine potential Russian influence but it has to be done in line with the rule of law. The Council of the European Union is monitoring developments regarding the situation in Poland," he added.

"This is a development the European Commission is watching with great concern," European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said, adding that the law "raises serious concerns in terms of conformity with EU law".

"As we understand, it grants significant powers to an administrative body which could be used to bar individuals from public office," Reynders stressed.

The commissioner also mentioned the ongoing dispute with the Polish government regarding the rule of law in Poland. He said that "serious concerns remain" regarding Poland's National Council of the Judiciary, Supreme Court, and Constitutional Tribunal.

"I am here to warn you because 'Lex Tusk' is not yet another law violating the constitution. It is a special new tool, a modus operandi of an authoritarian government that knows it’s losing people’s trust, but wants to stay in power at all costs," said Andrzej Halicki of the EPL.

He added the same sitution had taken place in Communist Poland. "This government has one plan of action - to blame others for it is doing itself."

"We must remember we are dealing with a threat to the foundations of the European Union. It's very existence has been put into question," said Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats).

The Spanish MEP added "we are facing a shocking development". "We see what actions the government and the ruling party are trying to take. Mr Commissioner Reynders, we need to stop this, this law must not be implemented," he urged.

Ruża Thun of Renew Europe stressed that the commission the new law seeks to launch would be "strictly political". "This commission aims to ban people from participating in public life. This is not a problem for one party or one person. This is a huge problem for all of us," she added.

Tineke Strik of Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance argued that "the Polish ruling party is on a war path against democracy, to win the elections at all costs". The Dutch politician added that "the law on commission on Russian influence exploits the Russian aggression with the sole purpose to remove opposition candidates from the election list and to silence critical voices".

Beata Szydło (European Conservatives and Reformists Group) said "three simple questions" arised from the debate. "Does everyone who has voted today in favour of this debate know the Polish Constitution? Do you know the content of the bill you are debating on? And most importantly, why do you oppose creating such a commission that exists in other countries?" - she asked.

The former prime minister of Poland argued "it's good such a commission has been created in Poland". "If we're talking about how strong is Russian influence, then this debate shows it's very strong," she stressed.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda told Bloomberg he did not understand the criticism coming from allies regarding the law in question.

"I don't quite understand the reaction of our allies. I don't know if they were mislead by opposition politicians, if they were mislead by errors in translating the bill - or if someone just didn't explain it," Duda said in an interview published on Wednesday.

This way he commented on the criticism from the USA and the EU, which had expressed concerns the bill would be used to fight the opposition ahead of parliamentary election this fall. According to Bloomberg, the situation "casts a shadow over Poland's efforts to forge closer transatlantic ties".

Furthermore, Bloomberg said, Duda had offered "to speak with President Joe Biden directly to explain new legislation".

The Polish head of state also reassured the new law assumes a right to appeal and "absolutely doesn't" prevent candidates from seeking office.

"Polish society deserves to know whether someone, while performing a specific public function, was actually subject to any Russian influence," the president said. "People have a right to this knowledge."

Strongly criticised as unconstitutional by several judicial organisations, the law is seen by many commentators and opponents as providing the party with a way to block top opposition politicians from taking office if the PiS is ousted.

PiS has accused the previous opposition government of being pro-Russian, for example for buying fuel from Russia, like many countries did before sanctions were imposed. Meanwhile, the opposition denied any wrongdoing and in turn have made allegations of pro-Russian influence in the PiS.

The European Commission said it was concerned by the law and would not hesitate to take action, if necessary.

"This new law raises concerns that it could be used to affect the possibility of individuals to run for public office, without fair trial," it said in a statement.

The U.S State Department said it was concerned the law "could be misused to interfere with Poland's free and fair elections" and block opposition politicians' candidacy without due process.

Poland's foreign ministry said the law would not limit voters' choice but would provide them with "wider access to information about matters crucial to national security".

Any party subject to the commission's decision will have the right to appeal in an administrative court, the ministry said.

Lawyers from the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights said judicial control would be "illusory" as administrative courts may only rule on procedural issues, but not on the substance of a decision.

It said the commission would have considerable discretion in applying the law, which, paired with the limited judicial control, provided "another argument proving that Polish legislators had violated the right to fair trial".