The controversial EU Pact for Migration and Asylum will introduce migrant quotas to Europe, as well as Poland, despite claims from Prime Minister Donald Tusk that such quotas will not apply to Poland.
Professor Robert Grzeszczak from the Department of European Law at the University of Warsaw unequivocally stated that Poland must implement the provisions of the EU migration pact.
“The prime minister cannot say: ‘We will not comply,'” he stated.
The migration pact, which features nine regulations and one directive, will enter into force in mid-2026. Although Poland voted against it, the document was adopted. Despite this, Tusk swears that the Polish government will not implement the provisions of the pact, with the argument that Ukrainian refugees will count towards the quota.
However, experts have no illusions: Poland will have to respect EU regulations.
“The pact essentially talks about how to handle asylum and protection applications fairly and with respect for human rights. And this is already a law in force, although the action has been postponed for two years. The prime minister cannot say ‘we will not comply,’ because it would be like saying: ‘from tomorrow we will not apply the law from the Supreme Court or adhere to the protection of whistleblowers” said Professor Robert Grzeszczak in an interview with the portal Gazeta.pl.
So why doesn’t Donald Tusk tell society openly that Poland will soon accept migrants or pay for not accepting them? According to the expert, it is about current politics and the upcoming presidential elections.
“Thus, we did not meet the expectations of the European Commission for Warsaw to start working on the technicalities. Why? For political reasons, especially the election campaign (…) In reality, it is about not discouraging voters and showing that we are autonomous from any centers that would decide on asylum policy,” he said.
Migration Pact
The migration pact includes, among other things, simplification of procedures for returning illegal immigrants from Europe, but the essence of the undertaking is the relocation of immigrants from civilizationally alien countries across all EU member states. The relocation of illegal immigrants is referred to by the European Commission as “compulsory solidarity”.
If a member state refuses to admit foreigners, taxpayers of that state will have to pay a fine for each one they refuse. The amount has not yet been set, but it is said to be around €20,000 per person.
The migration pact assumes that in a “crisis situation” the European Commission may increase the number of migrants that individual countries are to allow into their territory.
