The KRRiT report, presented by its chairman, Maciej Świrski, on Wednesday described 2024 as "a year of particular challenges for the Polish media system," citing what he called the unlawful takeover of public media by the government.
Addressing lawmakers, Świrski accused then-Culture Minister Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz of illegally placing public broadcasters TVP and Polish Radio, as well as state news agency PAP, into liquidation in December 2023, "bypassing the constitutional authority of the broadcasting council."
Sienkiewicz placed TVP, Polish Radio and the PAP news agency into liquidation, pointing to President Andrzej Duda's decision to halt funding for public media as the trigger.
He argued that the move would allow the organisations to keep functioning, enable essential restructuring and help prevent staff layoffs.
As a result, Świrski said, KRRiT refused to transfer licence fee revenues to the new management of the public broadcasters, instead placing PLN 337 million (around EUR 80 million) into court escrow accounts.
The funds, he claimed, could not legally be allocated because the new managers had not been lawfully appointed.
Świrski also criticised the government’s direct transfer of PLN 1.8 billion from the state budget to the public media, calling it a violation of legal procedures and accusing the council’s critics of political pressure, including an attempt to bring him before the State Tribunal.
Presenting data from the council’s 2024 oversight work, Świrski said KRRiT monitored 339 licensed broadcasters, handled over 15,000 viewer complaints, mostly concerning alleged bias and hate speech, and imposed 72 financial penalties.
He defended delays in licence proceedings by citing legal complexities and lack of access to necessary data.
Świrski called for a new media law to ensure public media independence, as well as new tools for regulating digital platforms and a fund to support local and "mission-driven journalism."
'Unprecedented abuse'
MPs from the ruling coalition dismissed the report as biased and lacking legal merit.
Krzysztof Piątkowski from the Civic Coalition (KO) called the council’s actions “an unprecedented abuse,” citing a November 2024 ruling by the Warsaw Administrative Court which found the KRRiT had violated the law by withholding funds, and imposed a fine.
“The chairman acts like a political warrior, not a state official,” Piątkowski said, while the KO’s Michał Krawczyk added: “Świrski writes as if he were a columnist in a far-right magazine, not the head of a constitutional body.”
Other coalition MPs argued that the KRRiT had failed to present a strategy for development of public media or address digital transformation, and disinformation.
Representatives of Poland 2050, the Left, and the Polish People’s Party also supported the rejection of the report, saying the KRRiT had acted unprofessionally and failed its democratic mandate.
'Hostile takeover'
Right-wing opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), which appointed Świrski, defended the KRRiT.
MP Zbigniew Bogucki accused the current government of staging a “hostile takeover” of public media, saying: “You acted like an organised crime group making a hit on the media.”
A total of 250 MPs voted to reject the KRRiT report, 178 were against, and two abstained.
The lower house also rejected the report of the National Media Council (RMN), which oversees appointments to public media boards.
The new RMN chair, Wojciech Król, said that his predecessor Krzysztof Czabański, appointed under the previous PiS government, held the post for most of 2024
Król told lawmakers that the RMN made numerous appointments to supervisory and programme boards and is currently under audit by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK).
'Politically created institution'
MP Urszula Augustyn (KO) called the RMN a "politically created institution that appropriated the KRRiT’s powers and became a jobs programme for political allies."
A total of 247 MPs voted to reject the RMN report, six were against, and 176 abstained.
Under Poland’s broadcasting law, if both chambers of parliament reject the KRRiT report, the council’s mandate expires within 14 days, unless the president vetoes the decision.
A similar rejection occurred last year, but President Duda did not confirm the dismissal.
The KRRiT is a constitutional body tasked with safeguarding freedom of speech, media pluralism and the public interest in broadcasting.
The broadcasting regulator is responsible for issuing radio and television licenses, monitoring public broadcasters' compliance with legal standards, and exerting indirect oversight over state-owned media.
It serves a role similar to that of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States. However, its future now hangs in the balance amid Poland’s wider battle over the future of public media.
Earlier this month, a parliamentary committee voted to recommend bringing Świrski before the State Tribunal over allegations that he blocked funding for public media and licenses for private broadcasters.
The State Tribunal is a special judicial body empowered to try top state officials accused of violating the constitution or laws while in office.
Appointed in 2022 by the previous parliamentary majority, Świrski has denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement, he said at the time he would "fight for freedom of speech and for justice for those responsible for attacking public media, the law and the constitution."
The state audit body NIK last month said it had notified prosecutors over suspected criminal misconduct by the National Broadcasting Council, after millions in licence fee revenue were placed in a court deposit rather than distributed to public broadcasters.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP