The Sejm rejected the report of the National Broadcasting Council and information on the activities of the Council of National Councils
25 June 2025 | wirtualnemedia
On Wednesday, the Sejm rejected the National Broadcasting Council’s report on its activities in 2024, along with information on the fundamental problems of radio and television broadcasting and information on the activities of the National Media Council in 2024. If the Senate and the President made a similar decision, the KRRiT’s term would be automatically shortened.
250 MPs voted in favor of rejecting the National Broadcasting Council’s report on its activities in 2024, 178 against, and 2 abstained . One PiS MP, 147 Civic Coalition MPs, 32 Polska 2050-TD MPs, 30 PSL-TD MPs, 21 Left MPs, 14 Konfederacja MPs, 2 Republikanie MPs, 2 Konfederacja Korony Polskiej MPs, and 1 non-attached MP voted in favor. 171 PiS MPs, 5 Razem MPs, and 2 Republikanie MPs voted against. One Konfederacja MP and 1 Konfederacja Korony Polskiej MP abstained.
If the Sejm’s decision were subsequently confirmed by the Senate, and then by the president, the National Broadcasting Council’s term (which runs until the fall of 2028) would be automatically shortened . Such a scenario would be likely if Rafał Trzaskowski won. The election of Karol Nawrocki as president means the head of state will likely accept the report.
247 MPs voted in favor of rejecting the report on the National Media Council’s activities in 2024, 6 against, and 176 abstained. Voting in favor were 146 MPs from the Civic Coalition (KO), 32 MPs from Polska 2050-TD, 30 MPs from the Polish People’s Party (PSL-TD), 21 MPs from the Left, 14 MPs from the Confederation (Konfederacja Korony Polskiej), 3 MPs from the Confederation of the Polish Crown (Konfederacja Korony Polskiej), and 1 non-attached MP. One MP from the Law and Justice party (PiS) and 5 MPs from the Razem (Together) group. Abstentions included 171 MPs from the Law and Justice party (PiS), 1 MP from the Civic Coalition (KO), 1 MP from the Confederation (Konfederacja), and 3 MPs from the Republikanie (Republicans).
The head of the National Broadcasting Council is critical of the liquidation of public media.
During the discussion, Maciej Świrski, Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, noted that “2024 was a period of particular difficulties for the Polish media system.” “The National Broadcasting Council, acting under the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Broadcasting Act, faced the need to protect freedom of speech, pluralism, and media independence in the face of serious violations of the legal order,” he said.
In his opinion, “the key problem was the takeover of public media – Polish Television, Polish Radio, and the Polish Press Agency – by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage without a statutory basis and bypassing the constitutional competences of the National Broadcasting Council when it comes to Polish Television and Polish Radio.” He was referring to the liquidation of TVP, PR, and PAP by Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz in December 2023.
He noted that the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) could not transfer subscription fees to public media because the individuals managing them were not legally appointed. “At the same time, a PLN 1.8 billion subsidy was transferred from the state budget (to these media – PAP), bypassing statutory procedures and the National Broadcasting Council’s powers,” he added.
He emphasized that this constitutes a violation of the principles of legality. He noted: “The National Broadcasting Council, which adheres to these principles, has become the target of political pressure, including a motion to bring me, as its chairman, before the State Tribunal.
“He reported that in 2024, the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) oversaw 339 licensed broadcasters. Fifty-one licensing decisions were issued, including 11 new licenses and 40 extensions. 15,327 citizen complaints were registered, primarily concerning bias, manipulation of facts, and hate speech. 286 program analyses were conducted, 42 of which resulted in explanatory proceedings. 72 financial penalties were imposed.
“In response to allegations of prolonged licensing procedures, I emphasize that these delays resulted from the need to comply with the law and the lack of access to necessary data,” he noted. He added that, regarding the license fee, the National Broadcasting Council acted in accordance with the Civil Code and transferred the funds to a court depository. “The National Broadcasting Council remains the guardian of freedom of speech and pluralism – values fundamental to democracy,” he emphasized.
An appeal for a new media law and dialogue.
The head of the National Broadcasting Council called for “the adoption of a new media law that will ensure the stability and independence of public media and a move away from the liquidation of public media, as well as the implementation of regulations for OTT platforms to protect the Polish media market, as well as the creation of a pluralism fund supporting local and missionary journalism.”
He also requested that the National Council be provided with appropriate tools and a budget to carry out its constitutional tasks . “I appeal for dialogue to jointly protect freedom of speech and media pluralism. The National Broadcasting Council remains open to cooperation with parliament, the government, and society,” he emphasized.
As rapporteur Krzysztof Piątkowski (KO) assessed, during Tuesday’s meeting of the Committee on Culture, National Heritage and the Media, the debate “looked as if we were talking from two completely separate worlds. On the one hand, facts, documents, court judgments, legal opinions, reports of the Supreme Audit Office, and on the other – denials, emotions, ideological labels.”
“The most important accusation, the one that, in my opinion, determines the entire case, is a blatant violation of the law in the management of public funds. Over PLN 337 million, which should have gone to as many as 19 public broadcasters, was deposited by the chairman in a court depository. This is an absolutely unprecedented situation. This decision was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK), and the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw, in its judgment of November 5, 2024, found a blatant violation of the law, imposed a fine, and ordered the Council to pay the funds to Polish Radio within seven days.”
The licensing procedures, he added, were “protracted, non-transparent, and uneven, with decisions for some broadcasters taking several months, and for others—politically friendly ones—in just a few days.” “The report did not meet any standards for an official document. It was emotional, journalistic, and politicized. Chairman Świrski’s language is not that of an official, but that of a political fighter,” he said, also accusing the head of the National Broadcasting Council of lacking a strategy for the development of public media.
Supreme Audit Office audit of the National Media Council.
In turn, Wojciech Król, chairman of the National Media Council, pointed out that the information about the National Media Council’s activities pertains to 2024, during which Krzysztof Czabański served as its chairman for the majority of the time. He recalled that the Sejm passed a resolution dismissing Czabański on October 11, 2024. In December, Król was appointed to this position, and on December 12, during the first meeting of the National Media Council in its new composition, he was elected chairman.
He reported that last year, the Council of National Remembrance held 11 meetings. During these meetings, “key decisions concerned changes in the composition of management boards, supervisory boards, and media companies, both national and regional. The Council also supplemented program councils, adopted positions on matters important to the media system, and addressed concerns to other state bodies,” he said.
He also reported that in November of last year, the Supreme Audit Office began an audit of the body’s performance. “However, it was not completed by the end of the reporting period,” he added.