Polish PM: Poland will not accept additional immigrants under EU migration pact
Poland will not accept additional immigrants under the EU’s pact on migration and asylum, due to the massive presence of Ukrainian refugees on its territory. Polish prime minister Donald Tusk made the comments on Friday at a press conference with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in the Polish city of Gdańsk.
The European Commission is visiting Gdańsk on Friday in light of Poland's presidency of the Council of the European Union, which runs until the end of June.
“Poland, which hosts nearly 2 million Ukrainian refugees, is in a unique situation. I said it clearly to the Poles recently, and I repeat it here today to the president: Poland will not implement the migration pact in a way that would introduce additional quotas of immigrants in Poland,” Tusk said at a press conference with Von der Leyen.
Insufficient support
“We cannot take on an additional burden,” he added. “We are already doing more than anyone could have imagined a few years ago.”
Poland voted against the European migration pact last year, but found insufficient support among other member states to block its adoption.
"We cannot take on an additional burden, we are already doing more than anyone could have imagined a few years ago”
The pact, due to enter into force in mid-2026, includes a mechanism for solidarity with member states facing a large influx of migrants. Then other member states can choose to take over migrants, or provide financial or operational support. Exceptions are also possible for member states that are themselves under great migratory pressure.
In her response, Von der Leyen praised the efforts made by Poles for Ukrainians fleeing after the Russian invasion of the country in 2022.
“The European Union must absolutely take this into account and respect this extraordinary solidarity," she said. She also referred to the situation on Poland's eastern border, where Russia and Belarus are using migrants to destabilise the country. “This is not a question of migration, but of national security,” she added.
“The European Union must absolutely take this into account and respect this extraordinary solidarity"
The Commission had already indicated late last year that Poland could temporarily suspend the right to asylum under certain conditions to deal with this instrumentalisation of migrants by Minsk and Moscow. It announced additional funds for the surveillance of the eastern external borders. Poland was promised more than 50 million euros and Von der Leyen said on Friday she planned to release additional funds.
She also pointed out that agreements with countries such as Egypt and Tunisia have helped to significantly reduce the number of migrants trying to enter the EU illegally.
Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen © BELGA PHOTO BARTOSZ BANKA / AFP
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