"We discussed the situation in Poland and the College [of Commissioners] agreed to start an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice in relation to the new law on the state committee on the examination of Russian influence," Dombrovskis told a press conference.
Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a bill into law last week establishing a state committee that will probe Russia's alleged influence on the country's internal security between 2007 and 2022.
The EU executive said it was concerned that the ruling Polish conservative party, Law and Justice, would use the committee to bar opposition politicians from running for office.
Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek, the Polish Foreign Ministry’s secretary of state for European policy, argued that all democracies should stand by Warsaw’s efforts to "explore and limit Russian influence" and promised to challenge the commission's narrative with facts.
"We will calmly provide legal and factual arguments in this case after familiarizing ourselves with the European Commission’s criticism," he wrote on social media.
The Polish official told reporters that the European Commission had acted hastily based on media reports and promised that Warsaw would carry on with its investigation into alleged Russian meddling despite the legal setback.