"I project my veto," Andrei Duda said in a televised message, following strong U.S. criticism after the law was passed by the Polish parliament last week.
The bill, passed on December 17 at the initiative of the ruling ultraconservative populist Law and Justice Party (PiS), was aimed at preventing non-European Economic Area companies from retaining a majority stake in Polish media companies.
It would have forced the US-based Discovery group to sell its stake in TVN, one of Poland's largest private TV networks. TVN24 is the continuously operating news channel that is considered critical of the conservatives in power.
For its part, the Polish government said the law was intended to protect Polish media from potentially hostile actors such as Russia.
Andrei Duda stated that he remained faithful to this principle, but the law should not challenge existing investments or conflict with international agreements.
U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Warsaw Bin Ailey had asked the Polish president to veto the law.
A spokesman for the European Commission had said the law posed "serious risks to media freedom and pluralism in Poland."
Thousands of Polish citizens demonstrated on 19 December carrying European Union flags and chanting "Free media!" and "We want a veto!"
Source: APM
[/p]Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
