In the fight against illegal migration, Poland’s Prime Minister Tusk wants to temporarily suspend the right to asylum. He says he will act “hardly and ruthlessly” – and is thus embarking on a confrontation course with the EU.
Poland wants to limit illegal migration and at least temporarily suspend the right to asylum. This is one of the elements of his new migration strategy, said the liberal-conservative head of government Donald Tusk, according to the PAP news agency. “I will demand recognition of this decision in Europe.” He didn’t give any details.
At a party conference of his Citizens’ Coalition (KO), Tusk emphasized that the state must regain 100 percent control over who comes to Poland and enters the EU member state. He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of coordinating the influx of migrants as part of a “hybrid” attack and of wanting to destabilize the EU by smuggling migrants across the Polish border. This is “contrary to the essence of the right to asylum”. Lukashenko rejects the allegations.
Together with the Czech Republic, Poland announced this week that both countries would call for “a very serious, political debate on migration” in Brussels at the next meeting of the European Council in mid-October. Both countries have taken in many Ukrainian refugees.
Threats to the EU
Tusk wants to present the new migration strategy to the cabinet on Tuesday. Regarding the EU migration pact, Tusk threatened that he would not respect or implement any European ideas that threatened his country’s security. He announced that he would “take a tough and ruthless approach” to the issue and reduce irregular migration to a minimum. Building an image of Poland as a safe country could encourage Poles abroad to return home.
Warsaw and Prague have long been calling for better protection of the EU’s external borders. At the same time, they criticize the reintroduction of internal border controls, as Germany has done. On Wednesday, Poland and the Czech Republic spoke out in a joint statement in favor of tightening EU migration policy and a “stricter and different version of the EU migration pact”, which is due to come into force in 2026.
Clearer rules for issuing visas
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski had already announced on Thursday that Poland would tighten its regulations for issuing visas. In the future, there will no longer be any opaque ways to expedite the issuance of a visa, said Sikorski.
The EU and NATO country Poland is drawing conclusions about corrupt practices in issuing visas under the former national-conservative PiS government, which ruled the country from 2015 to 2023. The “Poland Business Harbor” program, which was aimed primarily at self-employed people in the IT industry from neighboring Belarus, has been suspended. The rules for issuing visas for humanitarian reasons would also be revised.
A report by the Supreme Court of Auditors confirmed media reports from last autumn that Polish consulates in Asia and Africa issued visas for large sums of money during the time of the PiS government. This generous practice in issuing entry permits stood in stark contrast to the anti-foreign and anti-migrant rhetoric of the PiS government.
In August 2023, the then Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk was suddenly dismissed. According to media reports, he is said to have been the mastermind behind the system. Wawrzyk was arrested in January. He is being investigated on suspicion of corruption.
With information from Jan Pallokat, ARD Studio Warsaw