The European Union executive said on Thursday (August 3) that Poland's new law on Russian influence, dubbed "Lex Tusk" by the opposition, "continues to raise serious concerns". Despite criticism that it could serve as a tool to persecute political rivals ahead of a national election due this autumn, Poland's President Andrzej Duda - an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party - signed the law into force on Wednesday.
The law would, among other things, create a special committee to investigate any undue Russian influence in Poland.
At a press briefing on Thursday, Anitta Hipper, a spokeswoman of the European Commission, was asked to comment on the new law signed by the Polish president. She replied that said legislation "continues to raise serious concerns".
Hipper also said that the law could put Poland at odds with EU laws when the panel starts operating.
"Lex Tusk"
The law establishing a state commission for the investigation of Russian interference in the internal security of Poland from between 2007 and 2022 entered into force on May 31, after having been ratified by President Andrzej Duda a few days prior.
Upon signing the bill into law, the president noted he would send it to the Constitutional Tribunal for further consideration. Already on June 2, president Duda submitted the amendment to the law.
The new law has been dubbed "Lex Tusk" by the opposition, as they argue the main intention of its authors was to create a law that would target the Civic Platform chairman Donald Tusk. Furthermore, the critics of the legislation stress that its provisions could allow to eliminate figures picked by the commission from the political life.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters
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