Poland and Hungary block EU statement on migration, causing disunity among member states
GRANADA, Spain – On October 6, Poland and Hungary blocked a symbolic European Union statement about migration during a summit in Spain. However, other leaders present at the summit expressed their commitment to continue overhauling the bloc’s rules for handling irregular arrivals.
The issue of migration is a politically sensitive matter, especially ahead of regional elections in Germany on October 8, a national vote in Poland a week later, and a continent-wide parliamentary ballot next June. Concerns about increasing irregular immigration were voiced by Rome, Madrid, and Berlin.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused Germany and Poland’s opposition leader of collaborating to push new EU laws that would fine countries for refusing to host migrants from the Middle East and Africa. Morawiecki stated, “Poland does not agree to have someone else furnishing our home.”
Hungary’s anti-immigration leader, Victor Orban, also criticized the EU for forcing a new migration pact. Out of the EU’s 27 member countries, 22 agreed this week on how to handle irregular immigration during times of exceptionally high arrivals, signaling progress in reforming the bloc’s asylum and migration rules.
The European Parliament must now further negotiate the agreement, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed confidence that a final deal will be reached. Von der Leyen emphasized the importance of managing migration as a collective effort, stating, “We cannot accept what human traffickers do and we cannot let them decide who has access to the EU.”
The disunity demonstrated by the actions of Poland and Hungary raises questions about the effectiveness of implementing the new migration pact. However, European Parliament head Roberta Metsola urged caution, stating, “There is no silver bullet, but let’s not kill this pact before we adopt it.”
The EU has tightened its external borders and asylum laws since the influx of over a million people, mostly Syrian refugees, in 2015. The crisis caught the bloc off guard, overwhelming security and reception capacity in southern member states and destination countries like Germany. Disagreements over migration have strained the bloc’s unity, and it appears that the feud is far from over, deal or no deal.
In response to the ongoing migration challenges, Germany introduced checks on its borders with EU countries last month to crack down on people smugglers. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated on Friday that countries with staunch anti-immigration stances cannot simultaneously allow refugees and migrants to cross into Germany without proper registration and hosting on their soil.
The future of the EU’s migration policies remains uncertain, with divisions among member states continuing to pose challenges to the bloc’s unity.