Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, dispelled criticism on Wednesday regarding a proposed temporary halt to receiving asylum applications, insisting that he would safeguard Poland’s eastern frontier. This move has been admonished for falling foul of human rights. Tusk is due to engage with fellow European Union chiefs in Brussels on Thursday, as the bloc gets set to intensify its position on immigration. This topic has become a matter of concern to governments, especially those that are fending off opposition from anti-Euro and nationalist factions.
“Over the coming days in Brussels, we will stand in defence of the Polish border and employ every lawful means,” Tusk declared in parliament. “Poland won’t be and can’t be powerless.” His comments came after President Andrzej Duda publicly criticised the governmental asylum policy introduced late Tuesday, asserting it would detrimentally impact Belarusian dissidents escaping persecution. Subsequent to a controversial election in 2020, Poland has become a haven for thousands of opposition advocates from its eastern neighbor, Belarus.
The issue of immigration is expected to heavily influence the 2025 presidential election in Poland which has been embroiled in a migration debacle at its border with Belarus since 2021. Both Warsaw and the EU accuse Belarus – backed by its ally Russia – of engineering the crisis by directing people from Middle East and Africa to the Polish border; an allegation that Minsk and Moscow reject.
Tusk labelled Duda’s critique of the asylum policy as “inane”, asserting it was targeted at immigrants deliberately deployed by Belarusian government. “No Belarusian dissidents have entered Polish territory in groups led by [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko,” he contended.
He also rebuffed censure from human rights champions who assert that even a temporary stoppage of accepting asylum applications undermines Poland’s constitution and international law. “Nobody is suggesting human rights, specifically the right to asylum, are being violated. We’re merely proposing to deny applications to individuals that cross the border illegally in groups coordinated by Lukashenko,” he argued.
Despite opposition from four left-wing ministers, the recently adopted migration policy also intends to implement a focused visa system for work and study purposes, and incentivise Polish nationals living overseas to come back home.