U.S. Senators Urge Polish Leaders to Uphold Democratic Norms

Poland’s new leaders are eroding the country’s democratic record through laws that give the government new powers, three U.S. senators said in a letter to Prime Minister Beata Szydlo.

The dispatch by Senators John McCain, Benjamin Cardin and Richard Durbin follows an unprecedented move by the European Union’s executive last month to start a probe into whether rule of law is under threat in Poland. After winning an October general election, the Law & Justice party overhauled the country’s constitutional tribunal, making it more difficult for justices to overturn laws. It also placed public media and prosecutors under direct government control, fueling concerns that it was dismantling the system of checks and balances upholding the nation’s democracy.