English Section

Poland's parliamentary speaker plans talks over PiS-Fidesz ties

14.04.2026 22:45
Polish parliamentary speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty has said he will hold talks with Budapest on whether to set up a joint inquiry into contacts between Poland's former ruling party PiS and Hungary's Fidesz, which he suggested had led to deals between the two countries' state energy firms.
Polish lower house Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty addresses reporters in Warsaw ahead of Tuesdays parliamentary session.
Polish lower house Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty addresses reporters in Warsaw ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary session.Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz

Speaking ahead of a parliamentary session on Tuesday, Czarzasty said he would open talks with the Hungarian side about forming a joint parliamentary group to look into the matter.

He suggested the relationship between Law and Justice (PiS) and Fidesz had influenced dealings between Polish and Hungarian state energy firms.

The 2022 deal – in which Hungary's MOL took over 417 petrol stations in Poland while Orlen received 143 in Hungary and 39 in Slovakia – was required by the European Commission as a condition for approving Orlen's takeover of fellow Polish oil company Lotos.

Poland’s state audit body NIK said last year that the merger had lacked sound economic justification and that some assets had been sold for PLN 5 billion less than their value.

The announcement comes days after Hungary's opposition grouping TISZA won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, ending the dominance of Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party after years in power.

Czarzasty congratulated TISZA and said he hoped the result would open "a new chapter for Central Europe".

He also criticised Poland's president Karol Nawrocki for visiting Orbán in Budapest before the vote, saying it was regrettable that the Polish head of state had used the prestige of his office to support the politician he described as "pro-Russian and anti-European".

Czarzasty said he also plans to revive the Visegrad Group's inter-parliamentary cooperation and invite the incoming Hungarian parliamentary speaker to Warsaw.

(ał)

Source:PAP