Polish parliamentary committee says central bank chief should face State Tribunal

A Polish parliamentary committee has recommended that central bank governor Adam Glapinski be brought before the State Tribunal to answer accusations of constitutional violations in office, its chairman Zdzislaw Gawlik said on Friday.

The committee majority accuses ‌Glapinski of violating Poland's constitution and statutes by indirectly financing the budget deficit through asset purchases in 2020-21, conducting such operations without "proper authorization" from the Monetary Policy Council, and politicising the central bank. Glapinski denies the accusations. He was not called to testify before the committee.

The committee's report and recommendation were backed by 11 of 21 lawmakers ‌in a vote, two committee members told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The vote and the committee's earlier proceedings, including the hearings, were held ‌behind closed doors. The report, along with two minority motions by opposition lawmakers who had opposed it, will now be referred to the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, for a vote. A date for the vote has not yet been set, but it can take place no sooner than 21 days after all lawmakers have had a chance to review the report.

"I ⁠see no ​grounds or circumstances that would cast ⁠doubt on the justification for bringing the governor before the State Tribunal," Gawlik told reporters in the Sejm. OPPOSITION TIES

Glapinski has long-standing ties to Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) ⁠party, which lost power in 2023. Gawlik is from the centrist party of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which has vowed to bring to account those it accuses of wrongdoing ​under the previous PiS administration. Glapinski said on Thursday the committee's proceedings were "completely unfounded" and detrimental to Poland's national interests. He said the central ⁠bank would not yield "to any political pressure".

The Sejm would need an absolute majority of votes, with at least half of the statutory number of deputies present, to adopt the resolution to bring ⁠Glapinski ​before the tribunal. The Constitutional Tribunal ruled in 2024 that such a vote would require a three-fifths majority and that bringing the central bank governor before the tribunal would not trigger his automatic suspension. The government disputes the legality of those rulings.

"We will, of course, have the majority needed to pass ⁠the vote," Zbigniew Konwinski, the head of the Civic Coalition parliamentary faction, the largest grouping in the government, told reporters. PiS lawmaker and deputy committee chairwoman Iwona ⁠Arent told Reuters she suspected the government ⁠would aim to suspend Glapinski and that PiS could choose to seek recourse from international institutions guarding the independence of central banks.

The European Central Bank declined to comment on the Polish parliamentary committee's move. Glapinski’s second and final term expires ‌in June 2028.