Tusk says Poland's eastern border needs to be protected from illegal migrants

Photo: Donald Tusk

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he believes the country's eastern border needs to be protected. Speaking to lawmakers on Wednesday, October 16, he rejected criticism of his plan to accept asylum applications, including claims that the plan violates human rights, Reuters reports.

Tusk will be among the EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday. The EU intends to toughen its stance on migration, a problem that has become increasingly acute for European governments in recent times – particularly those seeking to counter challenges from Eurosceptics and right-wing nationalists.

"Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow in Brussels we will defend the Polish border and use all legal instruments,– Tusk told lawmakers. – Poland cannot and will not be helpless,”.

The Polish prime minister's speech came after Polish President Andrzej Duda criticized the asylum plan adopted by the cabinet on Tuesday, October 15. According to Duda, the plan could harm Belarusian dissidents fleeing repression.

Migration issues are likely to play a key role in the presidential elections in Poland, which will be held in 2025.

We remind you that since 2021, the country has been trying to overcome the migration crisis on the border with Belarus.

As official Warsaw and EU authorities emphasize, Belarus and Russia have been deliberately transporting migrants from the Middle East and a number of African countries to the border with Poland. In his speech, Tusk emphasized that his policy is aimed at preventing the penetration of migrants into Poland, whom the Belarusian authorities are deliberately sending to the border.

“There has not been a single case of Belarusian opposition members crossing the Polish border in groups organized by Lukashenko,” – he explained.

The migration strategy, which also aims to introduce a more targeted approach to issuing visas to workers and students, as well as encouraging Poles living abroad to return, was adopted despite the disagreement of four ministers, the Polish government website reports.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga