Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Saturday that, as part of Warsaw’s new migration policy, it is planned to temporarily suspend asylum rights because they are abused by neighboring Belarus and Russia. The new strategy of Tusk’s government in the field of migration has drawn criticism from coalition partners and comparisons with the government led by PiS, which was in power in Poland until 2023.
PiS announced that it will start collecting signatures for the referendum on the so-called EU migration pact. Former defense minister Mariusz Blaščak, who represents PiS, told private radio “Wnet” on Monday that 500,000 signatures are needed. “We will be active, we will go to people, we will ask for signatures, and this is the right solution,” the politician emphasized.
Blaszczak suggested that Tusk could follow the example of Hungary and the Netherlands and demand that Poland be temporarily excluded from the EU’s migration pact. “But Donald Tusk doesn’t do that. And because he won’t do that, and he won’t support our referendum proposal, that means he’s cheating again and trying to find some sort of replacement theory [attiecībā uz tā dēvēto migrācijas krīzi],” he added.
Asked about Tusk’s proposal to temporarily suspend asylum rights, Blaščak did not completely reject it, but said that “everything will depend on the effectiveness of such a solution.” However, he considers this an ineffective approach, as it would require denouncing international conventions to which Poland is a signatory. “Should we denounce the Geneva Convention? Is that what Donald Tusk wants?” asked Blaszczak.
According to him, “the problem is that people from the Middle East and North Africa are storming Europe, and the German-dominated EU has decided to adopt a migration pact and move these people from Germany to other EU countries.” He pointed to the fact that Germany has sent back thousands of people who crossed the border illegally, half of them Ukrainians.
In October 2023, at the initiative of PiS, a referendum was held in Poland at the same time as the parliamentary elections, in which the Poles had to answer four questions, one of which was whether they agree to accept illegal immigrants from Africa and the Middle East. However, only about 41% of voters voted in the referendum and it was declared not to have taken place. Many people refused to vote in the referendum because they believed the questions were biased.
On May 14, EU ministers agreed on the new EU migration and asylum pact. Poland did not use its veto, for which former PiS environment minister Michal Vos criticized Tusk, saying the prime minister lacked the courage to challenge the European Commission and the German government. However, Poland did not have the right to veto because the pact was adopted by a qualified majority. Warsaw and Hungary were the only ones to oppose the pact, but their votes were not enough to reject the pact.
The pact is based on mandatory solidarity, which stipulates that a country can either accept a certain quota of migrants or make a financial or operational contribution to the EU’s migration management system.
Tusk said on Saturday that his government has no plans to comply with EU migration rules and that “no one will force him” to implement them.
“It is our right and duty to protect the borders of Poland and Europe. Security will not be negotiated with anyone. It is a task that must be fulfilled. And my government will fulfill this task,” Tusk announced on Monday on the “X” platform.