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Poland’s Justice Minister hits out at EU Commissioner

PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk 10.01.2016 09:26
Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro has hit out at “silly” remarks by EU officials critical of Poland.
Zbigniew Ziobro. Photo: Flickr.com/Piotr Drabik
Zbigniew Ziobro. Photo: Flickr.com/Piotr Drabik

Ziobro’s remarks came in a sharply-worded open letter to Gunther Oettinger, the EU Commissioner for the digital economy, who has voiced concern over controversial changes to the media pushed through by Poland’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.

"A week ago in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung you criticized the actions of a democratically elected Polish parliament and government that are intended to restore the objectivity and independence of the public media in Poland,” Ziobro wrote in his letter, quoted by the PAP news agency.

“You demanded that Poland be placed under supervision. Such words, spoken by a German politician, have the worst possible connotations for Poles.

“For me, too. I am the grandson of a Polish officer who, during World War II fought in [Poland’s] underground Home Army against ‘German supervision’,” Ziobro said, referring to the war-time occupation of Poland by Germany.

Ziobro added that he was not in the habit of responding "to silly remarks about Poland uttered by foreign politicians," but he felt he had to speak out after a spate of sexual assaults on women during New Year celebrations in German cities.

These events “were for several days hushed up by the German media…I came to the painful conclusion that it’s easier for you to talk about fictitious threats to media freedom in other countries than condemn censorship in your own country," wrote Ziobro.

Oettinger recently told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper that “many reasons exist for us to activate the 'Rule of Law mechanism' and for us to place Warsaw under supervision.”

The European Commission's so-called rule of law mechanism is designed to address threats to the EU's core values.

The Commission has announced that it will hold a debate on “the rule of law in Poland” on 13 January.

Thousands staged protests across Poland on Saturday against a new law they say threatens the independence of the country’s public broadcasters. (pk)

Source: PAP

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