"We have a really clear and strong mandate to defend and protect public values. Two of them are now attacked in Poland: independency (independence) and pluralism. So there is a risk," EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot told Reuters Television, Ukraine Today reported.

Critics accuse Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the PiS party, of rolling back judicial independence and freedom of speech.

The EBU organizes the prestigious annual Eurovision song contest, and there are suggestions Poland could be excluded from the competition.

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