Sticking up for media freedom POLAND is in trouble with Brussels. On January 13th the European Commission launched a formal assessment of whether changes to the constitutional tribunal and public media pushed through by Poland’s new government, led by the Eurosceptic Law and Justice party (PiS), violate the rule of law. The commission is wielding new enforcement powers; in the worst case, Poland’s voting rights in the EU could be suspended. The move has “nothing to do with politics”, claimed Frans Timmermans, the first vice-president of the commission. But a big political fall-out looks likely.
Since coming to power in October PiS has strengthened its grip over the security services and the civil service. In December it passed a law that requires the constitutional tribunal to approve verdicts by a two-thirds majority, crippling its ability to strike down legislation; it also appointed five new judges. A new media law sacked the management of Poland’s public television and radio broadcasters; a former PiS MP is the new television boss.
Moderates are worried. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, PiS’s divisive leader, is…
