EU brands Polish media bill 'a negative signal'

FILE PHOTO: A protester holds a placard reading "Free media!" during a demonstration in defence of media freedom and against a proposed amendment to the country's broadcast media law regarding the share of foreign capital in Polish media, in Czestochowa, Poland August 10, 2021. Grzegorz Skowronek/Agencja Gazeta/via REUTERS

(Reuters) - The European Commission on Thursday criticized a Polish bill limiting foreign ownership of media companies that has been passed by the country's lower house of parliament, saying it sent a negative signal.

"Media pluralism and diversity of opinions are what strong democracies welcome, not fight against," the Vice President of the European Union's executive, Vera Jourova, who is responsible for media freedom, said on Twitter. "The draft Polish broadcasting law sends a negative signal."