The National
Broadcasting Council

The case concerns an attempt to suspend Mr Maciej Świrski from his role as Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council.

 In light of the Sejm's subsequent actions under Article 11(1) of the Act of 26 March 1982 on the State Tribunal (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 762, as amended), Mr Maciej Świrski requested that the European Parliament investigate potential violations by the Sejm of Directive 2010/13 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 (OJ EU L 95 of 15 April 2010, p.1) concerning the coordination of audiovisual media services regulations across Member States.

Article 30(5) of this Directive guarantees the independence of national media market regulatory authorities, among other things, and sets out the conditions and procedures for appointing and dismissing their members. These procedures must be transparent and non-discriminatory, ensuring the required independence of regulators.

However, the Sejm's procedure, which allows a state authority to suspend the members and head of the national regulatory authority for the audiovisual media market, could lead to political pressure being exerted on the regulator, thereby violating the EU principle of independence from political pressure.