Its members would be selected by the Polish parliament, where the PiS and its junior coalition partner, the Sovereign Poland Party, hold a narrow majority. The new commission would be fully operative before the summer, according to PiS. Under the new law, a public figure who acted under Russian influence may be banned from holding a security clearance or working in roles related to distributing public funds. The new commission to be established by the bill will investigate Russian influence in Polish politics from 2007 to 2022.

While emphasising that the legislation “remains within sovereign national competence of the Polish parliament,” the ministry expressed readiness “to clarify and explain all potential misinterpretations and doubts about it.” Poland appreciates our allies’ opinions and remarks regarding the national legislation, the Polish Foreign Ministry responded to the criticism in an official statement, adding that Warsaw “highly values” the alliance with the United States. “It will be possible to do that with an administrative decision without any judicial review, so it is a special concern and the Commission will … not hesitate to take measures, if needed because it is impossible to agree on such a system,” he said on entering talks of EU ministers in Brussels. “We have a special concern now about the situation in Poland with the creation by law of a special committee able to deprive citizens, individuals, from their right to be elected to public office,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said. Washington called on Poland to ensure they do not preempt voters’ ability to vote for the candidate of their choice and that it not be invoked or abused in ways that could affect the legitimacy of elections.

The US State Department shares the concerns “that the new law could be used to block the candidacy of opposition politicians without due process,” Matthew Miller, US State Department spokesperson, said in a statement. The choir of criticism of the new law was joined by the US and Brussels. This sentiment was also echoed by former prime minister Donald Tusk in the face of the upcoming elections. Signed by Polish President Andrzej Duda on Monday, the bill is seen by numerous experts and the opposition as aimed at removing the rivals of the ruling right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party from politics. The European Union and the US have harshly criticised a Polish bill that would create a panel investigating potential Russian influence in Polish politics.

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