Poland’s right-wing ruling party has failed to get a majority to pass a bill that would prevent non-European owners from having controlling stakes in Polish media companies
By VANESSA GERA Associated Press
August 11, 2021, 3:51 PM
• 1 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleWARSAW, Poland -- Poland's right-wing ruling party failed to get a majority Wednesday to pass a bill that would prevent non-European owners from having controlling stakes in Polish media companies.
The legislation would have forced Discovery Inc., the U.S. owner of Poland’s largest private television network, to sell its Polish holdings. It was seen as a major attack on media independence in a European Union nation that has already been criticized for reducing judicial independence.
The vote on the media bill was scheduled for Wednesday but was put off until September after an opposition leader called for the postponement and that motion got a majority of votes.
The media bill has been viewed as a crucial test for the survival of independent news outlets in the former communist nation, coming six years into the rule of a populist government that has chipped away at media and judicial independence.
It is not immediately clear if the ruling right-wing party, Law and Justice, will still find a way to get the votes to pass the law.
