Polish Senate Commission Investigating Ties between Law and Justice Party and Russia, Coal and Gas Imports: What You Need to Know

Among the issues that the commission will investigate are the possible ties of the politicians of the ruling national conservative party “Law and Justice” (PiS) with Russia, as well as the import of coal and liquefied gas from Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine.

“It is important for citizens to know who represents whose interests,” says the decision on the creation of the new commission.

The new body, which will run until the end of the Senate’s mandate, already held its first meeting on Thursday.

The Senate commission is a response to a similar controversial body, which was created in the lower house of parliament at the initiative of “Law and Justice” and was approved at the end of August.

The conservative majority then elected nine members of the commission, while all opposition parties boycotted the vote and refused to nominate their candidates, claiming it was “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.

The commission of the lower house of the parliament should check whether politicians under the influence of Russia did not make decisions that would threaten the security of Poland between 2007 and 2022. Officials whose actions would be recognized as threatening national security may be subject to penalties.

Among other things, those found guilty could be barred for ten years from holding public positions related to public finances and classified information.

The original version of the law was sharply criticized by both the opposition, the EU and the US, claiming that its real purpose was to target opposition politicians before the October elections.

The law was proposed in May by Law and Justice, and critics say its main target is former prime minister Donald Tusk, who represents the opposition liberal-conservative Civic Platform (PO) party.

In response to criticism of the law, Polish President Andrzej Duda proposed urgently amending it, but the Senate, where the government does not have a majority, also rejected the revised version of the law. However, the Seimas of the lower house of the parliament overcame the veto of the upper house with 235 to 214 votes, with four members abstaining.

2023-09-08 07:44:00
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