Jarosław Kaczyński, head of Poland’s conservative opposition party PiS, has accused the European Commission (EC) of plotting to interfere in the country’s upcoming presidential election.
His outrage follows reports that the EC is organizing a “round table” to prevent election manipulation—an initiative he sees as an excuse to influence the vote.
Henna Virkkunen, the EC’s Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, confirmed in a Deutsche Welle interview that the Commission is working with national authorities, NGOs, and social media platforms to combat disinformation ahead of the May 18 election. She pointed out that similar discussions took place before Germany’s recent general election.
Kaczyński isn’t buying it. He claims the EU is laying the groundwork to repeat what happened in Romania, where last year’s presidential election results were annulled, and a re-vote was scheduled for May. Calling the EU’s actions “anti-democratic,” he argues Brussels is working to preserve its grip on power.
Other PiS leaders echoed his concerns. Former Prime Minister Beata Szydło slammed the EC for interfering in Poland’s internal affairs, calling it “absolutely unacceptable.” Meanwhile, PiS’s presidential candidate, Karol Nawrocki, vowed that Poland’s next leader would be chosen by Poles—not by Brussels, Berlin, or Kyiv.
Adding fuel to the fire, PiS members have pointed to Virkkunen’s past support for opposition candidate Rafał Trzaskowski, who narrowly lost in 2020 but is running again this year. They also suspect EU bias, noting that pandemic recovery funds withheld under PiS were suddenly released once Donald Tusk’s center-left government took office in 2023.
PiS isn’t alone in its outrage. Many right-wing figures across Europe and the U.S. have condemned Romania’s election annulment, arguing it was orchestrated by the EC and former U.S. President Joe Biden under the pretext of Russian interference—without clear proof.
As tensions rise, PiS is also battling Poland’s current government over withheld state funding, despite a court ruling in its favor. The party warns this standoff threatens the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, the very body responsible for certifying Poland’s election results.
