WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has approved controversial legislation that regulates the Constitutional Tribunal, the nation’s highest court, and appealed for “truth” in debates that are also heard abroad.

Some European Union leaders have expressed alarm at the fast-paced legislative changes taken by the new conservative government. The opposition claims that Poland’s democracy is threatened because the court will lose its power to check the government’s actions.

Duda said Monday he believes the legislation will enhance the court’s authority as it requires a greater number of judges than before to agree on verdicts. He stressed that the government wants to push ahead with promised social reforms.

He appealed for “truth and no manipulation” in the debate because “words said here are also heard abroad.”