02/06/2023 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 2 June, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced a major amendment to a law creating a special committee on Russian influence, reported AFP. On Tuesday 30 May, the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, criticised the law, arguing that it undermined the principle of a fair trial (see EUROPE 13190/1). The first law, signed by the President at the beginning of the week, provided for a 10-year ban on holding public office, without effective appeal, for people accused of having increased Russian influence in the country. The amendment that the President was due to table on Friday provides for the initial sanction of a ten-year ban from holding public office to be replaced by a finding by the committee that a person is acting under Russian influence and does not guarantee the proper performance of activities in the public interest, reports AFP. (SP)