Polish newspapers bought by state-owned company: "Independence destroyed"

PKN Orlen's deal has caused a stir in the country and the opposition believes that the government party Law and Justice (PiS) uses tax money to buy more control over the country's media.

"They have destroyed public service.

There is no real information - just blunt propaganda.

Now that they have bought Polska Press, we will have the same in the regional media.

Step by step, diversity and independence are being destroyed ", writes Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, Member of Parliament for the opposition party Citizens' Platform (PO), on Twitter.

"Polish media biased?"

Law and Justice rejects the claims that the deal would lead to poorer freedom of the press.

They have long claimed that foreign news companies had too much influence in Poland, and Polska Press is currently owned by a German company.

- If the media are German, are they objective, and if they are Polish, are they biased?

I reject that way of thinking, says Ryszard Czarnecki, one of the party's politicians, in the European Parliament.

PKN Orlen believes that the deal is not about gaining editorial influence but rather about gaining access to Polska Press' 17.4 million users.

- We will be able to support sales and expand our computer tools, says Daniel Obajtek, CEO of Orlen and a member of PiS, in a video statement.

Has collapsed in the press freedom index

Poland's freedom of the press is currently being investigated by the EU.

According to Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) press freedom index, the country has lost 41 positions - in just five years.

Erik Halkjaer, chairman of the Swedish section of the RSF, believes that the great decline began when the government party Law and Justice came to power.

- The first thing they did was to take control of public service.

They deleted the tableau and fired reporters.

When governments do that, you can almost expect that press freedom will deteriorate, he says to SVT Nyheter, and continues:

- It is possible that PKN Orlen buys the news company with the ambition to make fantastic reviewing news, but I doubt that this is the case.