Poland makes it clear. A clear position on the migration pact

The final approval of the regulations is scheduled for Tuesday at a meeting of the heads of finance ministries of European Union countries. This is just a formality after the regulation was approved by the European Parliament less than a month ago and the preliminary consent was expressed at the beginning of February by the ambassadors of EU countries, despite Poland’s opposition.

Poland opposes the migration pact. The Minister of Finance spoke

Minister Domański said that the government negatively assessed the provisions of the pact negotiated by the previous authorities. – It does not take into account the specificity of countries bordering, for example, Belarus – emphasized Domański. – Countries that face the growing pressure of the so-called hybrid war. The provisions of the migration pact do not adequately take into account the relationship between responsibility and solidarity, said the Minister of Finance.

The PiS government spoiled practically everything that could be spoiled in these negotiations and failed to fulfill its obligation to take care of Poland’s interests. Therefore, the position of our government is clear

– said the Minister of Finance.

The key and most controversial element of the pact is the principle of mandatory solidarity, which provides for the admission of migrants. Relocation can be replaced by a fee of approximately EUR 20,000 for each person not admitted. This rule will come into force from 2026. There are provisions allowing for exemption from relocation based on the number of migrants or refugees accepted by a given country, but only in the last 12 months.

According to the assumptions, the EU is to admit 30,000 people each year. When dividing into individual countries, the population and GDP of each country are to be taken into account. In the case of Poland, it would be either two thousand people admitted or a fee of EUR 40 million.

Migration pact. What does it concern?

However, the migration pact is not only about relocation. There are also provisions on faster processing of asylum applications, faster return of people who are not entitled to international protection, and better identification of migrants at the borders, including taking fingerprints of all those who illegally try to get to Europe.

The migration and asylum reform was first proposed by the European Commission in 2016, but it stalled because some countries opposed the relocation. The deadlock was broken when the unanimity requirement was abandoned.