Poland will not accept illegal migrants within the framework of the Migration Pact adopted by the EU Council, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters.
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“Poland will not accept any migrants within the framework of the Migration Pact. Poland accepted hundreds of thousands of migrants in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian war. We also have tens of thousands of migrants from Belarus,” Tusk said.
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The Prime Minister clarified that Poland voted against the Pact and Migration.
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“Poland, the minister representing my government, voted against the migration pact,” he said.
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Tusk also referred to the fact that negotiations on the “Migration Pact” were led by the previous Polish government.
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On Tuesday, the EU finally approved a reform that tightens the rules for the reception of migrants from third countries, the EU Council said in a statement.
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Earlier, the European Parliament, at its plenary session, approved this problematic law, called the “Pact on Migration and Asylum,” by a majority vote. It is intended to help combat illegal migration and human trafficking, as well as toughen penalties for crimes in this area within the European Union. Community countries will now have two more years to implement it into their national systems.
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In February of this year, the permanent representatives of the EU countries agreed on a compromise version of this law.
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The pact, which has been drafted and rewritten for almost a decade, includes a series of new rules governing stronger controls at external borders, faster processing of asylum requests and more effective removal of those who have no right to be in the EU.
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The reform also involves a “fair” distribution of migrants across different EU countries, which should reduce the burden on “first-line” states facing an influx of illegal immigrants.
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Earlier, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson reported that almost 60 thousand illegal migrants have died over the past ten years trying to get to more prosperous countries through illegal means.
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Johansson also noted that the annual profit of criminal gangs transporting migrants is up to 6 billion euros. She acknowledged that the situation is worsening as the organization of criminal networks improves and the smugglers themselves use modern technology to operate. In this regard, the European Commissioner called on those wishing to end up in another country not to get involved with such groups, and on the international community to join efforts to stop illegal migration.
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Among the proposed measures to stop the flow of migrants is tougher punishment for smugglers, who would face 10 years in prison and 15 years if killed, Johansson said.
