During a visit to Stockholm on Friday, Żurek said Sweden was interested in learning from Poland’s recent experience as it works to strengthen its own democratic safeguards.
"We are sharing our experiences with the Swedish authorities, answering difficult questions and showing the importance of Europe as a common legal area," Żurek told reporters.
He said Europe acts as "a safeguard preventing countries from falling into the abyss of authoritarianism,” adding that hostile powers such as Russia seek to undermine democracies through disinformation and fake-news campaigns amplified by online bots.
“We want to counter this while still giving citizens space for freedom,” he said.
Żurek took part in a seminar at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), a Stockholm-based organization that has tracked global democratic trends for three decades.
In his remarks, Żurek outlined Poland’s rule-of-law crisis under the former right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government and described how independent judges, civic groups and media resisted political pressure, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He said restoring judicial independence since 2023 has been a complex process requiring Poland to “balance between illegality, EU law and the Polish constitution."
Swedish Deputy Justice Minister Charlotte Kugelberg said Sweden was studying European examples, including Poland’s, to reinforce judicial independence.
“We cannot take the rule of law for granted,” she said.
A recent Global State of Democracy Report by International IDEA found that democracy has declined in most countries over the past five years, with press freedom at its lowest level in half a century, the PAP news agency reported.
Poland, however, improved its standing thanks to the depoliticization of public media, stronger civil liberties and a more effective parliament, it said.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP