Luxembourg criticizes Poland and Hungary in connection with migration policy

– From the point of view, the EU treaties are an obstacle for Orban to pursue nationalist and illiberal policies. This has been the case since 2010. Even worse is Poland’s rejection of responsibility and solidarity in European migration policy – said Asselborn in an interview published on Saturday in the portal “Die Welt”. The head of the MFA pointed out that Poland has shown that it can pursue a different migration policy, as evidenced by the acceptance of many refugees from Ukraine. “The situation would be simpler if in Poland – as before December 2015 – the government was in power, which would know that solidarity in this matter is not an option, but is obligatory” – said the head of Luxembourg diplomacy.

Asselborn: Hungary does not want to be part of the EU

Hungary under Orban’s rule is and will remain, in his opinion, a country that he must “pull with him”, despite the fact that, in fact, “they do not want to belong to us”. When asked about the weak points of the asylum compromise, Asselborn pointed to “flexible solidarity” allowing refusal to accept refugees in exchange for the cash equivalenty. “I am afraid that many countries will oppose the acceptance of refugees and will rather pay 20,000 euros for each rejected immigrant. From their point of view, this is a more favorable solution, which also allows them to avoid political troubles.” – explained the head of the Luxembourg Foreign Ministry.

Polish journalists Jarosław Kuisz and Karolina Wigura in the weekend edition of “Tageszeitung” (TAZ) dealt with anti-migrant rhetoric in Central and Eastern European countries in reaction to the death of a teenager and the riots that followed this tragedy.

Schadenfreude because of the riots in France

According to the authors representatives of the ruling PiS party in Poland showed “undisguised joy” because of the crisis in France. Some of their statements showed a “special kind of schadenfreude” because of the mistakes made by the West and the consequences it had to bear.

Kuisz and Wigura admit that European countries have to deal with structural problems and people’s fears that the future will be even worse. The problem is that liberal democracies do not offer solutions to these problems. Populist parties such as . “Populists offer nothing but catchy slogans” – say publicists.

In their opinion, liberal democrats in Poland are trying to gain popularity using similar populist tricks. “However, if they do not distance themselves from populism and do not propose solutions in a democratic, open and wise style, they will always succumb to populists.” The head of the Luxembourg Foreign Ministry, Jean Asselborn, criticizes the position of Poland and Hungary, warn Kuisz and Wigura in “TAZ”.

From Belarus to Germany – a leaky wall on the border

In the same newspaper we find a report about migrants crossing the Polish-Belarusian border illegally despite the wall and reaching Germany. Author Peggy Lohse reports that 4,500 foreigners entered Germany illegally through Poland in May and June. Using the example of three Afghans, Lohse showed the fate of illegal migrants after arriving in Belarus. One of the heroes of the report says that his group received a ladder and scissors for cutting metal from Belarusian border guards. However, breaking through the fortifications turned out to be difficult. “We were grounded for days without food or drink” – he says. They received provisions from Polish officers, but they had to give up a ladder in return. They finally got to Poland through a ditch under the wall. Another Afghan was detained several times and sent to the Belarusian side.

The author writes that transport from the Belarusian border to Germany costs 2,000 euros. The drivers are often Georgians or Ukrainians. On the German side, refugees are detained, interrogated and registered by the federal police. Sending them back to Poland is prohibited. Only after the introduction of permanent border controls would it be possible to return illegal migrants, but German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is against it.