Poland’s government on Wednesday gave the green light to a controversial commission on Russian influence, criticized by Washington and Brussels and suspected of targeting the opposition, a month and a half before legislative elections, AFP reported.

The parliamentary majority elected nine members of the commission, and the opposition as a whole refused to nominate its candidates and participate in the vote, calling the new body “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.

There are no details on when the commission can begin work.

The law on this commission was promulgated by the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, at the beginning of August.

The text provides that this commission will be able to determine whether a person “acts under the influence of Russia” and “does not guarantee the proper implementation of activities of public interest.”

It will be possible to appeal the commission’s decision in the appeals court.

During the legislative process, the bill was criticized both in Poland and abroad.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for the European Commission recalled that in July, European Commissioner Didier Reynders sent a letter to the Polish authorities asking them “not to take such measures in the context of the elections” and indicating that Brussels “will not hesitate to move to the next stage of the infringement procedure” if the commission on Russian influence “will act in the context of the upcoming elections.”

After the first version of the law was passed in late May, the US State Department expressed concern that it “could be misused to interfere with free and fair elections in Poland” scheduled for October 15.