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Polish gov't to draft bill on restoring impartiality of public media: PM

19.12.2023 17:00
The Polish government plans to draft legislation to restore the impartiality of public media, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday.    
Photo:
Photo:PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

He announced the plan at a news conference in Warsaw.

The prime minister said that Poland's public broadcasters "cant' be said to have maintained impartiality for many years now," state news agency PAP reported.

He added that the government would "fix the situation" and seek to "work with the president and the opposition" to draft a bill to restore the impartiality of public media outlets.

He added that "decisions will be made swiftly."

Tusk also declared that any new funding for state-run media would be allocated "once the situation has been remedied."

Meanwhile, Polish MPs on Tuesday debated a draft resolution on "restoring the impartiality of public media," sponsored by the co-governing Civic Coalition (KO), the Polish People's Party (PSL) and the Poland 2050 group, public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.

The Civic Coalition's Bogdan Zdrojewski said that, if passed, the resolution could pave the way for the dismissal of members of the National Media Council, a supervisory body established under the previous conservative government. 

Meanwhile, MPs with the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, including former Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, told reporters that any such changes "require an act of parliament" and otherwise would be "illegal."

The resolution applies to state-run television broadcaster TVP, Polish Radio and the Polish Press Agency (PAP),.

Also on Tuesday, the Polish prime minister said that his government had recalled former TVP CEO Jacek Kurski from his position as a Poland-appointed Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank.

Tusk said that Kurski, appointed by the previous government in Warsaw, would be replaced in the interim by Finance Minister Andrzej Domański, before a permanent appointment is made, the PAP news agency reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, Radio Zet