You are here
Home > Persons > The admission of refugees on a voluntary basis only-PM at the EU summit

The admission of refugees on a voluntary basis only-PM at the EU summit

Poland at the informal EU summit in Salzburg, Austria, upheld its stand that refuge admissions to the EU countries could only take place on a voluntary basis, PM Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday in Salzburg.

Morawiecki told a press conference that Poland’s position in the matter was dictated by security and border protection considerations. He added that the Salzburg meeting confirmed the June European Council summit’s positive stand on voluntary refugee admissions, which was “very good” for Poland.

“Now there will be no possibility of forcing Poland into any admission scheme,” the PM said.

Morawiecki said that at the summit he pointed to the security and border-control aspects of migration control, and in this context stressed the need to reform the EU’s Polish-based Frontex agency to enable better protection of the EU’s outer frontiers against illegal migration.

Morawiecki reminded that Poland was active in border control undertakings in Moldova and Georgia, and earlier Bulgaria and Greece, and has donated 50 million euros to finance border safety infrastructure in the Balkan states and the EU’s southern neighbourhood.

Morawiecki also stressed that Poland was prepared to work together with the African countries in deporting their illegal migrants from Europe, and was also ready to help hinder migration in those countries themselves.

Recounting the summit’s Brexit talks, Morawiecki said Poland was striving to break through the current impasse between the EU and Britain, and wanted predictable post-Brexit provisions for Britain’s large Polish diaspora.

Morawiecki called Britain’s EU exit “a further element in the disintegration of the West,” which weakened the EU’s position against the Far East, China and Russia, and said that at the summit he repeatedly appealed for unity in the Western world.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Top