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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.
Poland wants the European Union to deny the right to asylum for migrants who cross EU borders in organised, aggressive groups, just as Poland has itself done on its border with Belarus.
“This is about depriving people who illegally cross the border in organised groups, using violence or destroying border security measures, of the right to international protection,” Maciej Duszczyk, the deputy interior minister who oversees migration policy, told broadcaster RMF.
Polska zabiega o to, by Unia Europejska przyjęła jej interpretację przepisów dotyczących ochrony międzynarodowej. „Chodzi o pozbawienie prawa do ochrony międzynarodowej osób, które nielegalnie przekraczają granicę w zorganizowanych grupach, z użyciem przemocy albo niszcząc…
— Fakty RMF FM (@RMF24pl) September 6, 2026
The station reports that, at a meeting of the European Council next month, Poland will propose expanding the interpretation of article 33 of the United Nations’ Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
That section outlines the principle of “refoulement”, under which states are barred from expelling or returning refugees to places where their life or freedom would be threatened.
The article includes a clause saying that the principle does not apply if “there are reasonable grounds for regarding [a refugee] as a danger to the security of the country” in which they have arrived, or if they have a criminal conviction that makes them “a danger to the community of that country”.
Poland wants that clause to be applied in situations where someone applies for asylum after being part of an organised and aggressive border crossing.
Since last year, Poland has itself banned asylum claims from people who illegally cross the border from Belarus. Since 2021, the Belarusian authorities have encouraged and assisted tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Asia and Africa, to try to irregularly – and often aggressively – enter the EU.
Poland’s asylum ban, which has exceptions for certain vulnerable categories of people, was introduced as a temporary measure in March 2025 but has been repeatedly renewed since then. Warsaw now wants a similar interpretation of international refugee law to be applied across the EU
Its proposals come in the wake of July’s incident in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, where tens of thousands of migrants irregularly entered from Morocco. Soon afterwards, Poland urged the EU to adopt tougher measures, including making migrants who enter the bloc illegally ineligible for obtaining residence rights.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk was also one of 22 EU leaders who signed a letter expressing “serious concern” at the situation in Ceuta and warning that the EU “cannot allow uncontrolled mass border crossings, the instrumentalisation of migration, or other hybrid threats to create the impression that illegal entry…is possible”.
After last week's migration crisis in Ceuta, Poland has called for tougher EU measures, including an automatic ban on residence for anyone who enters illegally.
It pointed to its own experience of dealing with "weaponised" migration from Belarus https://t.co/2VHn5ZUJx7
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) August 5, 2026
Poland has long argued that the situation on the Belarus border is an example of how migration has been “weaponised” by Russia and its allies to sow social discord in EU countries.
In response, Poland has invested billions in strengthening physical and electronic barriers along the border, has deployed thousands of additional officers there (and granted them expanded rights to use firearms), and has banned asylum claims.
In 2021, Poland recorded almost 40,000 attempted illegal crossings from Belarus, and the figure remained as high as 30,000 in 2025. However, in the first half of this year, only 235 attempted crossings were recorded, which the Polish government has hailed as evidence of the success of its tough measures.
However, Poland’s human rights commission recently raised concern at how long the technically “temporary” asylum ban has been in place. Some Polish courts have also ruled that Polish border guards acted unlawfully when forcing migrants back into Belarus.
The number of attempted illegal crossings by migrants from Belarus to Poland fell from 15,500 in the first half of 2025 to 235 this year – a drop of over 98%
Poland also now claims a 100% success rate in apprehending migrants who manage to cross illegally https://t.co/RFZkd7CeIk
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 20, 2026
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: HazteOir.org/Flickr (under CC BY-SA 4.0)
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.
