[ad_1]
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the ruling Law and Justice Party, considered de facto The country’s head hinted to the public broadcaster in early July that Poland would soon introduce rules to limit the concentration of foreign capital media in the country.
When asked if PiS would deliver reforms before the end of his term in 2023, Kaczynski said that “at least at the legislative level, we will be able to do it much sooner.”
“The success of this process is due to many changes that we believe will be implemented in the country and in international relations,” Reuters said.
Reuters / Scanpix photo / Jaroslaw Kaczynski
Rulers fix
Dominik Wilczewski, journalist for the Polish publication Przeglad Baltycki, who writes about the Baltic States, claimed that the restriction on the concentration of foreign capital media was PiS fix even before the party came to power.
“While in the opposition, PiS complained about media coverage, claiming that party information was being manipulated.
It was very important to them to create right-wing media in which they would be portrayed in a more positive way. PiS also complained that much of the attack and criticism generally comes from the media in the German capital, such as Axel Springer. It is not surprising that they returned to the issue after the elections. ” 15 minutes he said.
Wilczewski noted that this issue was raised just before the second round of the presidential election. The most popular tabloid in the Polish capital, Fakt, then announced that PiS-backed candidate Andrzej Duda had forgiven the convicted criminal, who beat up his daughter and exploited her.
The front page of the publication asked, “President, how could I forgive such a man?”
AFP / Scanpix photo / Newspapers in Poland
“Does Axel Springer, a Germany-based company that runs the Fakt newspaper, want to intervene in the Polish presidential elections? Do the Germans want to elect the president of Poland?” Duda asked.
“Stupid offer”
Dainius Radzevičius, head of the Union of Journalists of Lithuania (LUJ), stated that such restrictions would be contrary to European Union (EU) law.
“This is likely to violate many EU documents related to the freedom of action of companies and organizations, including media companies.” 15 minutes D. Radzevičius said.
The LUJ chief said he saw no threat as to why Poland would need such restrictions at this time. “It just came to our attention then. And this certainly threatens freedom of expression,” he added.
Photo by Arno Strumila / 15min / Dainius Radzevičius
Stanley Bill, a Polish professor of culture and politics at Cambridge University, wrote on Twitter before the presidential election that, in the event of Duda’s victory, PiS is likely to take steps to restrict media in foreign capital. According to him, such steps would be aimed at the German capital.
According to Bill, it is unlikely that laws prohibiting foreign companies from having media in Poland will be passed, as they would be contrary to EU law. However, a “return law” could be adopted.
“In fact, independent analysts say there is a concentration of media over-ownership in Poland, which is detrimental to pluralism.
These analysts say the refund law would have a positive impact on the Polish media scene. However, they point out that the PiS version of the law could pose new dangers. First and foremost, critical government media could be removed, potentially doing more harm than good, ”said Bill.
About three-quarters of the Polish media market is controlled by German capital companies.
Bill writes that PiS is believed to be trying to use state banks and other financial instruments to help “friendly forces take over these media.”
This is said to go to the politicization of Hungarian-style private media dominated by. And that would further undermine democracy.
Radzevic said he wanted to sympathize with the Polish public that there was a general public debate: “Because first of all, the public would lose the right to information.”
The LUJ chief said he did not expect to hear “such a stupid offer” in Lithuania anytime soon. “If it happened, in my opinion, it would be from a person who doesn’t really understand the EU documents, which, incidentally, are also binding in Lithuania.” 15 minutes D. Radzevičius said.
When PiS came to power, the situation of press freedom in the country deteriorated. Poland fell to a record low of 62 on the Media Freedom Index, released in April. Five years ago, she was ranked 18. For comparison: Lithuania ranked 28th this year, Latvia – 22, Estonia – 14. PiS also controls the Polish public broadcaster.
[ad_2]
