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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Donald Tusk has warned that the Polish government “will not implement” the European Union’s migration pact if it involves requiring Poland to accept migrants relocated from other member states.
The EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, as it is officially known, includes measures aimed at improving border security and preventing irregular entry to the bloc. But it also includes a “solidarity framework” designed to spread the burden between member states when dealing with asylum seekers.
That mechanism requires member states to provide such solidarity to countries experiencing “disproportionate pressures” either by receiving asylum seekers from them or by providing financial contributions or other forms of support.
Speaking today, Tusk declared: “Poland will not implement any migration pact or any provision of such projects that would lead to Poland’s forced acceptance of migrants. This is definitive.”
Premier @donaldtusk: "Polska nie będzie implementować żadnego Paktu migracyjnego, ani żadnego zapisu tego typu projektów, które miałyby doprowadzić do przymusowego przyjmowania przez Polskę migrantów zidentyfikowanych w innych krajach europejskich." pic.twitter.com/VBURUYFK3q
— tvp.info 🇵🇱 (@tvp_info) February 4, 2025
He said that allowing such relocations to happen would “waste the efforts our [Polish] police officers, soldiers and border guards who are risking their lives…to limit the threat of illegal immigration” and help make “Poland one of the safest places in Europe”.
Since 2021, Poland has been experiencing a crisis on its border with Belarus, where tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers – mostly from the Middle East, Asia and Africa – have been trying to cross with the encouragement and assistance of the Belarusian authorities.
Tusk also noted that Poland received large numbers of refugees as a result of the war in Ukraine, another of its eastern neighbours.
“The whole of Europe must understand that Poland bears burdens in this respect and that they are supposed to help us, not impose any new burdens,” he declared.
The prime minister also appealed to people to stop “making politics out of” the pact. That was likely aimed at the conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has in recent days been warning that Poland will be forced to receive relocated migrants once the EU’s pact is introduced.
Earlier today, before Tusk’s statement, former PiS Prime Minister Mateusz Morawecki warned that “the government’s position on the EU migration act is a lie…that threatens the security of our entire country and the future of our children”.
He and others in PiS have pointed to a recent statement by the EU’s internal affairs and migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, saying that, “under the EU law, there are no legal possibilities to exempt Poland from the implementation of any elements of the [migration] pact”.
Są kłamstwa, które zagrażają bezpieczeństwu całego kraju i przyszłości naszych dzieci. Te nie mogą pozostać niezauważone i nierozliczone.
⚠️ I takim kłamstwem jest stanowisko rządu w sprawie unijnego Paktu Migracyjnego.⚠️
12 października 2024 roku z ust @donaldtusk płyną słowa,… pic.twitter.com/gH8M0nHJwY
— Mateusz Morawiecki (@MorawieckiM) February 4, 2025
However, in the same statement, Brunner noted that member states can choose to offer financial or other support instead of receiving relocated migrants. He also confirmed that counties “under migratory pressure or facing a significant migratory situation” will see their solidarity contributions fully or partially reduced.
Speaking today to broadcaster Radio Zet, interior minister Tomasz Siemoniak accused PiS of trying to “dishonestly” exploit the issue of migration during the current presidential election campaign. He also noted that the details of the migration pact were negotiated when PiS itself was leading the Polish government.
“We [the current government] are opponents” of the pact, said Siemoniak, who noted that Tusk has repeatedly criticised it in the past and pledged to refuse to accept any relocated migrants.
The interior minister also noted that, in December, the European Commission had confirmed that Poland and other eastern member states are facing a crisis involving the “weaponisation of migrants” by Belarus and Russia.
Poland's government has approved tougher new migration rules intended to "take back control" of borders, including by suspending the right to claim asylum.
"We have launched a ruthless fight against illegal immigration," said Prime Minister @donaldtusk https://t.co/RSTP293oRb
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 18, 2024
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: KPRM/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
