During the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, a debate was held titled “The Attempt to Take Over the Public Broadcaster in Lithuania and the Threat to Democracy in That Country.” During the debate, Law and Justice MEPs Maciej Wąsik and Joachim Brudziński strongly criticized the interference of EU institutions in the competences of member states and pointed to glaring double standards in the assessment of situations in individual EU countries.
MEP Maciej Wąsik emphasized that the structure of the media system falls within the exclusive competence of member states.
“Every government has the right to regulate the media landscape through laws passed by its national parliament. This is a matter for Lithuania and the Lithuanian people. Neither the European Commission nor the European Parliament has any business here,” he noted.
The PiS MEP also recalled the events of 2023 in Poland, when Donald Tusk’s government forcibly took over public media. “Security firms and police were sent to television and radio stations, the broadcast signal was shut down, and journalists were removed from their jobs. These actions were reminiscent of the darkest days of martial law,” said Wąsik, pointing to Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz as the person responsible for those decisions. He also announced that a motion to waive the current MEP’s immunity could be submitted to the European Parliament in the future.
Joachim Brudziński, for his part, described the debate as an example of the hypocrisy of the parliamentary majority in the European Parliament.
“Whenever groups from outside your political bubble come to power in a member state, accusations of violating the rule of law—and even of fascism—immediately surface. This was also the case when Law and Justice was in power in Poland,” he said.
Brudziński also addressed the EU institutions’ response to the takeover of public media in Poland.
“When the media were forcibly taken over by Donald Tusk’s government, the European Commission and the European Parliament remained silent. Protesting opposition lawmakers were met with force,” he recalled, pointing to the injuries sustained by MP Joanna Borowiak. “Back then, you saw nothing, heard nothing, and said nothing. That is the definition of hypocrisy,” he concluded.
PiS MEPs unanimously emphasized that the European Parliament should apply equal standards to all member states and respect the principle of sovereignty in matters falling under national jurisdiction.
