Parliament should pass annex to Russia influence law says presidential aid

Parliament should pass an amendment tabled by the president to a law establishing a commission to investigate alleged Russian influence on Polish politics before the committee is set up, a senior presidential advisor has said.

The law, which came into force last week, has caused a storm of controversy inside Poland and attracted criticism from both the EU and the US.

Critics say the commission, which has the power to bar people from public office, could be used as a political instrument to exclude politicians such as opposition leader Donald Tusk from politics ahead of this autumn's parliamentary elections.

On Friday, Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, filed an amendment which includes a section that prohibits the commission from banning people from public office.

"The Sejm should pass the president's amendments before the commission is called up," Pawel Szrot, the head of the President's Office, told the Radio Wnet broadcaster.

Asked about international criticism of the commission, Szrot said its passage was "a sovereign Polish issue."