(Bloomberg) — Poland’s parliament unexpectedly approved a media law that aims to force Discovery Inc. to sell a majority in its local unit, undermining business and political relations between Warsaw and Washington.
The fate of the contested legislation is now in the hands of President Andrzej Duda, who has signaled he would veto the legislation. The U.S. government for months piled pressure on the ruling Law & Justice party to derail the bill, which according to Washington harms business sentiment and curbs media freedom.
Without warning, lawmakers returned to the previously shelved bill and approved it on Friday, sending it to Duda. If ratified by the president, Discovery would have to sell more than 50% in TVN, the country’s most popular private television broadcaster. The government has long tried to reduce the U.S. media giant’s clout, blaming its unit’s often critical coverage on foreign ownership.
“The outcome of today’s surprise vote in the Polish parliament should be deeply concerning to any enterprise investing in Poland and to anyone who cares about democracy and freedom of the press,” Discovery said in an emailed statement. “Poland risks directly undermining the values that have connected Poland with Europe, and uprooting the foundation of the Polish-American relationship.”
The Silver Spring, Maryland-based company called on Duda to veto the legislation. The office of the president, who has three weeks to decide what to do with the legislation, didn’t have immediate comment when contacted by phone on Friday.
‘Extremely Disappointed’
“The U.S. is extremely disappointed with today’s adoption of the media law,” Bix Aliu, the Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, said on Twitter. “We expect President Duda to act in line with previous declarations to use his leadership to protect freedom of speech and business.”
Opposition lawmakers said the Law & Justice surprisingly returned to the legislation, which it shelved when Duda expressed his intention to veto it, to draw attention away from other domestic political issues, such as high inflation and sleaze allegations.
Just minutes before the vote, Poland announced that household power bills will increase 24% next year, and gas bills 54%, which economists said would further escalate inflation from a two-decade high of 7.8%.
Poland’s nationalist government, which has been repeatedly accused by its western partners of undermining democratic values and undermining the rule of law, said the rules are needed to protect the country against potential media takeovers by companies from countries like Russia and China.
The Discovery-owned news channel TVN24 had to wait nearly two years before Poland’s media regulator, which has been stacked with Law & Justice appointees, extended the network’s license just before it expired in September. The situation may be repeated in February, when TVN7’s 10-year broadcasting permit lapses.
(Updates with U.S. comment and context from the first paragraph.)
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