Sejm passes bill on public media

The lower chamber of Parliament, the Sejm, voted 232-152 with 34 abstentions to adopt amendments to the media law that were proposed by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. According to the new law, the head of the Polish public radio and television will be dismissed and replaced by three-member boards "appointed and dismissed by the Minister of the Treasury." The new board will be under the control of the treasury "until the introduction of new national media organisations," the bill specifies. PiS wants to "bring back public media to the Poles," said PiS MP Elzbieta Kruk during the debate at the Sejm. The law has raised a European Commission leader concern over the freedom of media in Poland.