The representatives of the various political groups in the European Parliament have expressed their solidarity with Polish MEP Bronislaw Geremek, who declared he had no intention of obeying the new national law on the vetting of collaborators of the Communist secret services. This refusal, in non-compliance with the new Polish provisions, means the revocation of his term as MEP. A distinguished historian, well-known opponent of the Communist regime and, in the more recent past, also Polish Foreign Minister, Geremek does not intend to present the declaration prescribed by the new law, a declaration that would once again certify he had not collaborated with the secret services of the regime during the Communist period. Some 700,000 individuals are obliged to present such a self-denunciation in Poland. The new law regarding collaborators of the Communist secret services, born before 1st August 1972, came into force on 15 March. It prescribes that university researchers, journalists, members of organs of local government, directors of associations (including sports associations), headmasters of schools of every grade and type, advocates, magistrates, accountants, auditors and numerous other professionals must submit to the vetting of the National Institute of Memory (IPN) which holds the documentation regarding some collaborators of the Communist secret services.
