One thing has not changed under the new Polish government headed by Donald Tusk: the unwillingness to accept refugees. “We are protecting Poland from the redistribution mechanism,” said the Prime Minister at a press conference in Warsaw on Wednesday evening. Although the choice of words has changed slightly, Tusk’s conservative-liberal Civic Platform and the right-wing nationalist PiS agree on this matter. Which is also shown by the voting behavior of the Polish MEPs. Almost everyone, regardless of party, voted against the distribution of refugees among the EU countries.
At the moment, Poland can claim that it is under considerable immigration pressure, after all, the country has taken in many Ukrainian war refugees. According to data from the ZUS Social Insurance Institution, around 760,000 people from Ukraine were registered there in 2023. According to statistics, around 950,000 Ukrainians have received a so-called Pesel number, an identification number that is needed in Poland for almost everything, from opening an account to filing taxes. In addition, many Belarusian citizens continue to seek refuge in Poland from the brutal Lukashenko regime.
Many of these people are very welcome in Poland because they learn the related language relatively easily and quickly integrate into the job market. They often have experience in jobs that are sought in Poland. Like Germany, the country suffers from a shortage of skilled workers and is also experiencing an economic boom. Even before the war, many Ukrainians kept the Polish infrastructure running.
“I will focus on protecting the borders and not on making it easier for those who want to cross them”: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
(Photo: Omar Marques/Getty Images)
Mayors and city councils in several large cities in Poland, such as Gdansk and Warsaw, have been open to accepting refugees from the Middle East or other countries around the world for years. Non-profit associations and non-governmental organizations campaign for the rights of all those entitled to asylum and point out unequal treatment.
But the rejection of a common European strategy for accepting asylum seekers appears to be a reason of state in Poland. Tusk had already declared during the election campaign that he would stick to this PiS line. Which doesn’t stop PiS from accusing Tusk of mendacity. And if Tusk hopes to secure right-wing votes by rejecting the asylum compromise, this hope was already dashed in the local elections on Sunday. PiS once again remained in first place.
The PiS government came under criticism across Europe because it had a steel wall built in the protected jungle in Belarus to keep out refugees fleeing from Africa or Asia to the EU via Minsk. The border guards are acting very harshly against the people; there has been evidence of illegal pushbacks and people dying from exhaustion or injuries. Activists had called on the new government to end these disgraceful conditions. Which, according to the organization Grupa Granica, is not yet the case.
In the press conference on Wednesday, Tusk showed sympathy for the personal dramas of the refugees, spoke out in favor of humane treatment at the borders and admitted that there were fellow travelers who were disappointed by his course in migration policy. Still, he said, “I will focus on protecting the borders and not on facilitating those who want to cross them. I’m sorry, but that’s how it is.”