Warsaw Court Blocks Takeover of Polish Regional Media by State-Owned Orlen

Protesters attend a 'Free Media' demonstration in front of the Polish Television TVP building at the Warsaw Insurgents Square in Warsaw, Poland, 09 January 2016. EPA/LESZEK SZYMANSKI

The court's decision means that Orlen will not be allowed to exercise its shareholder rights over Polska Press and presents a serious obstacle to the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party's plans to neutralise the country's still-critical private media, after having subordinated state media as soon as it came to power in 2015.

The acquisition of Polska Press by Orlen, announced last December, was widely taken as a move by the nationalist-populist government to assume control over much of the country's local media, because Daniel Obajtek, the CEO of Orlen, is known to be close to the PiS leadership. At the start of 2021, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski publicly praised Obajtek, leading many to speculate he could become the next prime minister. Since then, Obajtek's reputation has been seriously hit by a series of scandals.

Poland's Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) initially approved Orlen's purchase of Polska Press from Germany's Verlagsgruppe Passau in February. And in March Orlen became the formal owner of the group, which owns its own press agency, some 20 leading regional newspapers, 120 weekly magazines and 500 online portals reaching nearly 17 million readers across the country.

However, that same month, the Polish Ombudsman challenged UOKiK's decision in front of a Warsaw court dealing with competition. According to the statement from the Ombudsman's office, the court ruled on April 8 that the objection was warranted. UOKiK has three months to appeal the decision.

"On April 8, 2021, a ruling was issued on the motion to suspend the...