Speaking at a rally of his Civic Coalition movement in Warsaw on Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he would “resolutely harsh and merciless” with regard to illegal immigration, reports Euronews.
Mr. Tusk, who ousted the conservative national party Law and Justice (PiS) from power last October during the legislative elections, specified that he would present “the new Polish migration pact during a government meeting on Tuesday October 15”adds the news channel.
“After adopting this migration strategy, we will reduce illegal migration to Poland to a minimum” et “we will eradicate these practices which de facto circumvent Polish interests, which undermine the security of Poles and the Polish state”promised the center-right liberal leader, former president of the European Council.
“Hybrid warfare”
Among the planned measures is “the temporary suspension of the right to asylum”, a proposal which creates “a potential conflict with Brussels”note The Daily Telegraph.
The British daily recalls that “countries are obliged under international law to offer asylum” and M. Tusk, “to avoid legal action” account “require” of the European Union (EU) to recognize its decision.
“EU leaders are due to meet this week in the Belgian capital for a summit that will be dominated by migration issues and calls to make expulsions of illegal migrants faster and easier”specifies the conservative title.
Since 2021, “Poland has seen a considerable increase in the number of people, mainly from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, entering the country illegally from Belarus”observe the BBC.
In the month of August 2021 alone, “eight times more people attempted to cross the border illegally than in all of 2020”et “dozens of people still try to cross the border daily”adds the British public broadcaster.
A situation attributable, according to Warsaw, to the “hybrid warfare” led by Belarus and Russia, which would lead “the flow of migrants into the European Union with the aim of destabilizing the bloc” – accusations refuted by both countries.
Wide public support
“Poland has already started investing in heavier border infrastructure to try to deter irregular crossings”note Politico. “A special border zone” was even created “to give stricter powers to local authorities”.
Pour The Countrythe measures envisaged by Donald Tusk “are even further to the right than those of the ultraconservatives” of PiS, however “known for their xenophobic speeches and policies”.
And by suspending the right to asylum, “the liberal leader, on whom much of Europe was counting to curb the far right”crosses “a red line” with a measure that “violates a fundamental human right”. Without even talking about its “rejection of the new European migration pact, a position he shares with the national populist Viktor Orbán”.
More Al-Jazeera notes that upon coming to power in December 2023, “Donald Tusk led a strict immigration policy”. A strategy that received “widespread public support, but dismayed activists who hoped he would abandon the nationalist approach of the previous government”.