Poland’s PiS wants explanation from Tusk after French PM’s remarks on migration

3 months ago 12

Prominent opposition PiS lawmaker Mariusz Błaszczak called on Prime Minister Donald Tusk to explain his earlier words on the EU’s new Migration and Asylum Pact after his French counterpart Gabriel Attal said in a recent debate that the West had convinced eastern EU countries to either accept migrants or contribute financially to migration management.

Under the EU’s new rules, EU countries can either participate in the migration system by taking in asylum seekers or providing financial or operational support to host countries. According to Tusk’s earlier statement, Poland will be forced to do neither.

Błaszczak (ECR), a former defence minister in the PiS government who lost power in Poland to Tusk’s camp last December, referred to Attal’s words in a recent debate with far-right National Assembly (ID) candidate Jordan Bardella.

“Are you aware that we have managed to persuade (the eastern EU member states) to sign an agreement that says: you either accept migrants, as France, Spain and Italy all do, or pay for the border protection?” Attal asked Bardella, as quoted by Do Rzeczy.

For Błaszczak, Attal’s suggestion contradicts Tusk’s earlier assurances that under the new system, Poland would neither be obliged to accept asylum seekers nor pay contributions. The MP called for an additional parliamentary session to be convened for the government to explain itself.

“It looks like Donald Tusk lied when he said that Poland would not have to take in illegal migrants. The French Prime Minister has just stated that it was possible to “force” Eastern European countries to sign a document obliging them to accept migrants or face high fees for refusing to do so. This matter must be cleared up as soon as possible,” Błaszczak wrote on X on Sunday.

Błaszczak’s post on X followed an earlier statement by PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, who said that “French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has exposed Tusk’s lies”.

Neither Tusk nor anyone from his camp immediately commented on the accusations.

However, after the EU Council approved the migration pact earlier this month, Tusk said during the press conference that Poland would likely be exempted from the “accept or pay” system because it has received a large number of war refugees from Ukraine.

As Euractiv understands, this means that the migration wave from Ukraine could ensure that Poland is considered to be under increased migratory pressure and needs solidarity from other states.

Tusk also said Poland was “a beneficiary of the migration pact” as the situation created from migration from Ukraine and Belarus would give him reason to request help from other EU states.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)