Poland summons German envoy over politicians’ remarks

“This government acts against Poland, against our achievements, freedom, democracy, not to mention the fact that it makes us look ridiculous to the rest of the world”, Walesa said.

“Exposing the Polish government to interventions inspired by unjust, biased and politically engaged enunciations might have an undesirable effect, which is to be carefully avoided”, the Polish Foreign Ministry said.

“Such words, said by a German politician, cause the worst of connotations among Poles”, Mr Ziobro wrote to Mr Oettinger. The remarks did not go down well with the Polish Justice Minister, Zbigniew Ziobro. “Also in me. I’m a grandson of a Polish officer, who during the Second World War fought in the underground National Army”, he said, referring to the Polish resistance movement. “I have come to the bitter conclusion that it’s easier for you to talk about fictitious threats to media freedoms in other countries than to condemn censorship in your own fatherland”.

The Foreign Ministry did not name the German politicians it had in mind, although both the German president of the European Parliament and Germany’s EU commissioner for digital affairs have been sharply critical of Poland’s new conservative government, the BBC reports. It’s largely the same factors that have made Donald Trump a political phenomenon in the United States: an economy that is doing quite well overall – Poland’s economy grew by a third under Civic Platform in the past six years – but that has left a large chunk of the population behind. Union Bundestag Group Chairman Volker Kauder argued in an interview with the mirror for sanctions, should adhere to its line of the neighbouring country in the East. Next week, advises the European Commission on the situation in Poland.

A newly enacted media law gives control of Polish public radio and TV to a national media council close to the government.

The European Union’s executive had written to Poland, asking how the new law tallied with EU rules on media freedom; a sign of disquiet in Brussels that the eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party policies could undermine democracy. PiS opponents accuse the party of undermining democratic principles.