Polish PM: opposition threatens cenbank independence with tribunal talk

WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish opposition parties want to launch an attack on the independence of the central bank by putting its governor before a state tribunal, the prime minister said on Friday, as he vowed to raise the issue with international financial institutions.

National Bank of Poland (NBP) Governor Adam Glapinski is one of several people linked to the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party that a coalition of pro-European parties wants to bring before a state tribunal. The coalition looks set to oust PiS after winning a majority in an October election.

“I will talk to representatives of large international financial institutions, the IMF, the ECB (European Central Bank), the World Bank, to draw their attention to the fact that what Donald Tusk is trying to do… is the greatest attack on the independence of the central bank,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference.

Glapinski, whose links to PiS leader leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski go back decades, is accused by the coalition led by former European Council President Donald Tusk of allowing the central bank’s decisions to be influenced by the government, damaging its fight against inflation.

The governor was sharply criticised after a bigger-than-expected rate cut in September that critics said was politically motivated stunned markets and sent the zloty currency tumbling.

Glapinski denies the allegations against him and has provided a robust and often lengthy defence of his record during monthly press conferences at which he has stressed that inflation in Poland has fallen sharply this year.

Inflation was 6.6% in October, down from a peak of 18.4% in February.

In response to Reuters’ questions about the possibility of bringing Glapinski before a state tribunal, an NBP spokesperson said this could violate European Union regulations.

“Attempts to bring the governor of the NBP before a state tribunal can be directly interpreted as an attack on the independence of the central bank of one of the European Union countries, which is contrary to Art. 130 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU,” the spokesperson said in an email.