EU launches legal action against Poland over new Russian influence law

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Thursday launched legal action against member country Poland over a contentious new law that the nationalist government claims is meant to combat Russian influence but which critics say could be used to persecute opposition politicians. The European Commission said it believes that the new law “unduly interferes with the democratic process,” and that it “violates the principle of democracy,” and “rights to effective judicial protection.” The EU’s executive branch supervises respect of the bloc’s laws. The commission, she told reporters, was working “under the sense of urgency because we believe that this law is really a very serious blow to democratic processes, and to the fairness of the elections.” The move comes just two days after the EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice, confirmed that Poland has refused to comply with the bloc’s rules on judicial independence. On Wednesday, Poland’s minister for EU affairs, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, said that the government would “provide legal and factual arguments in this case after getting acquainted with the doubts of the European Commission.” “Poland, as the largest country neighboring Russia, has not only the full right but also the obligation to investigate these influences,” he said, according to state news agency PAP.