WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s leader said Saturday he plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as part of a new migration policy, pointing to its alleged abuse by eastern neighbors Belarus and Russia.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that “the state must regain 100% of control over who enters and leaves Poland,” and that a territorial suspension of asylum rights will be part of a strategy to be presented to a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. This was reported by the Polish news agency PAP.
He gave no details, but told a congress of his Civic Coalition that “we will minimize illegal migration in Poland.”
Poland has been struggling with migratory pressure at the border with Belarus since 2021. Successive Polish governments have accused Belarus and Russia of luring migrants from the Middle East and Africa there to destabilize the West.
Tusk pointed to alleged abuse of the right to asylum “by (Belarusian President Alexander) Lukashenko, by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, by smugglers, human smugglers, human traffickers. The way this right to asylum is used is completely contradictory to the idea of the right to asylum.”
He said he would demand recognition of the European Union’s asylum decision, PAP reported.
Tusk’s comments came after Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said on Thursday that Poland will tighten its visa rules, intensifying vetting of applicants. That decision follows an investigation into a cash-for-visa scandal under the country’s previous government.
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