07/02/2025 : Poland
will not implement Migration Pact, Donald Tusk tells Ursula von der Leyen
Donald
Tusk told Ursula von der Leyen that Poland would not implement the Migration
Pact.
By Jorge
Liboreiro
Published
on 07/02/2025 - 17:16 GMT+1
Donald
Tusk has once again criticised the Pact on Migration and Asylum and doubled
down on his refusal to comply with the legislation.
Poland
will not implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the all-encompassing
reform the European Union has introduced to collectively manage the irregular
arrival of asylum seekers, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday, speaking
right next to the main proponent of the legislative overhaul, Ursula von der
Leyen.
The Pact,
which is legally binding for all 27 member states, is expected to enter into
force in 2026, although some countries are keen to activate certain elements
before then.
Its
central pillar is a novel mechanism of "mandatory solidarity" that
will give governments three different options: relocate a certain number of
asylum seekers, pay a financial contribution or provide operational support,
like personnel and equipment. The relocations need to reach 30,000 per year and
the financial contributions, €600 million.
From the
start to the end of the negotiations, Poland, together with Hungary, firmly
opposed the Pact, as a whole, and the solidarity mechanism, in particular,
claiming it would force them to take in migrants against their will. The
Commission pushed back against these claims and stressed no mandatory
relocations would ever take place, as the system is based on three different
options.
On
Friday, Donald Tusk doubled down on this intense dislike for the Pact, flat-out
telling von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, that he would
defy the legislation. The reason for this, he said, is because his country
already hosts a large number of Ukrainian refugees who fled Russia's invasion,
"which puts us in a very particular position."
"Poland
will not implement the Migration Pact in a way that would introduce additional
quotas of immigrants in Poland," the Polish prime minister said in a joint
press conference.
"We
are ready to cooperate with everyone to protect Europe from illegal migration.
However, Poland will not take on any additional burdens. We have already taken
on more than anyone could have imagined just a few years ago."
Tusk
noted his country would comply with other European laws that "help against
illegal migration" but would forego the reform.
"The
mechanism of relocation is not a mechanism protecting Europe against illegal
migration," he said. "The Pact is not the way to reduce illegal
migration."
The
premier said that, despite his "friendship" with von der Leyen (both
are members of the centre-right European People's Party), he would not be
swayed by "sentiments".
"Poland
will not accept any burdens related to the relocation mechanism. This is not an
ideological debate. Poland is in a very particular situation. We're under huge
pressure from illegal migration," he went on, referring to the migration
flows that Belarus and Russia have instrumentalised at the Eastern border.
"If
somebody says that Poland is expected to shoulder an additional burden,
irrespective of who says that, my response is Poland will not accept an
additional burden. Full stop."
'Hybrid
threat'
Standing
by his side, Ursula von der Leyen, who previously hailed the Pact as a
"historic" achievement to ensure burden-sharing across the bloc, said
the European Commission would bear in mind the number of Ukrainian refugees
hosted in Poland.
"Poland
has shown, and is showing, extraordinary solidarity with Ukraine and hosting
the largest number of Ukrainian refugees (for) almost three years now and this
is something which absolutely has to be taken into account," the
Commission president said.
"This
is something (that) the European Union will take not only into account but also
respect this extraordinary solitary."
Under the
Pact, countries considered to be under "migratory pressure" will
benefit from solidarity measures. For example, they could have some asylum
seekers relocated to another member state or receive financial support and
equipment. Moreover, they could benefit from a partial or total exemption from
the system, meaning they will not be asked to relocate migrants within their
territory or chip into the common fund.
The
exemptions have not yet been announced and will only be made official after the
legislation enters into force and the Commission publishes its annual report
assessing the level of migratory pressure.
By making
such a forceful case, Tusk appears to be pre-empting the Commission's process
and ensuring Poland secures a complete exemption by default.
It is not
clear if a country that refuses to implement the Pact would benefit from the
solidarity measures offered by other countries who do implement the Pact.
The
Commission has previously threatened to open legal proceedings against member
states that ignore the reform, insisting the legislation is binding for all 27,
even those who voted against it. On Friday, von der Leyen refrained from
echoing that position.
This is
not the first time that Brussels has adapted its thinking to Warsaw's.
Last
year, after Tusk pitched a new plan to temporarily suspend the right to asylum
in cases of instrumentalised migration, the Commission went on the record to
stress all member states had an "obligation to provide access to the
asylum procedure."
As Tusk
held his ground and gained political support, the Commission relented and
eventually published guidelines to allow the suspension of fundamental rights
in "exceptional" circumstances and for what is "strictly
necessary."
"This
is not a question of migration, this is a question of national security,"
von der Leyen said. "We see it as a hybrid threat."
Friday's
visit of the College of Commissioners to Gdańsk took place in the framework of
Poland's six-month presidency of the EU Council, set to run until the end of
June.
The
presidency's motto is: "Security, Europe!"
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