(JB) Poland's Ambassador to Luxembourg has responded to criticism of its controversial media reform by questioning press freedom in the Grand Duchy.

In an interview published in Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Ambassador Bartosz Jałowiecki said it is no secret that the main Luxembourg newspapers “are closely related to political parties".

To illustrate his point, he cited a conference in Luxembourg concerning shale gas, at which he said that the unfavourable comments of one politician were removed from reports.

“Nobody made a fuss about it and, in private conversations, journalists admitted that politicians in Luxembourg had intervened.”

The ambassador's comments come as the European Union begins an inquiry into whether Poland's new conservative government breached the EU's democratic standards by overhauling the country's state-run broadcasters, largely viewed as bringing them under government control.

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn is among the more vocal critics of the overhaul, calling repeatedly for a tough EU response to the Polish government's actions.

In the article, the ambassador went on to stress Luxembourg's hypocrisy by quoting a Bible verse from Luke: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”.

The Polish Ambassador's comments are not without grounds in that last year Luxembourg fell from fourth to 19th place in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index.

The report argued that the close links between the country's media and its politicians and business leaders were hampering proper scrutiny.

In a bid to increase press freedom, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel published a circular earlier in January calling on all civil servants to provide information to the press when requested.

In the past, reporter questions were always dealt with directly by appointed press spokespeople.

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