Former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the president's letter to the head of the European Commission: inconsistency and an attempt to save face
The president also wanted to include Poland in the exclusion of the provisions of the migration pact, and previously he did not want to talk to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; This is an inconsistency of the president's foreign policy, an attempt to save face – said former Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacek Czaputowicz on Saturday.
This week, President Karol Nawrocki wrote in a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, that Poland will not agree to actions of European institutions that would aim to relocate illegal migrants on its territory. He expressed hope that the Commission President would take this fact into account in her actions.
On Saturday evening, former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the PiS government, Jacek Czaputowicz, said on TVP Info that the president sending a letter to von der Leyen is “very strange behavior.” He explained that Nawrocki at the end of August, he refused to meet the head of the EC when she was on a visit to Poland and met Prime Minister Donald Tusk on the border with Belarus. In his opinion, sending a letter is a desire to “demonstrate that you care about this topic”, but not “effective action”.
When asked whether PiS's attribution of Poland's exclusion from the provisions of the migration pact (which was unofficially reported by the media) to the president's effectiveness was exaggerated, he said that the president “also wanted to stay within this topic,” even though he had previously refused to talk about these issues, saying that he had other, more important partners.
– This is an inconsistency of the foreign policy of the Chancellery of the President and the president himself. This is an attempt to save face, to get behind the action. It results from a lack of certain diplomatic experience, Czaputowicz said.
He said that “you do not refuse to meet” the president of the EC, and if you refuse, you cannot expect or suggest that the letter will influence the EC's decision. According to Czaputowicz, Prime Minister Tusk discussed issues that resulted in “good decisions for Poland” during the meeting with the head of the European Commission. He added that the migration pact is a “very bad initiative” and an attempt by “strong countries to impose migration quotas on weaker countries.”
The president's letter, dated October 7, was published on Thursday on social media by the head of his cabinet, Paweł Głosernaker. The president wrote in the letter that “for over four years, Poland's eastern border has been subjected to constant migration pressure controlled by the Moscow regime using the Belarusian state and secret services,” and Poland devotes significant funds to ensuring the security of the EU's eastern border and “takes on the costs of supporting war refugees from Ukraine.” Nawrocki recalled that he had already announced that he would not agree to the implementation of the so-called migration pact.
Radio RMF FM reported on Saturday morning, citing unofficial information that Poland – due to the huge number of refugees from Ukraine admitted – is to be excluded from the relocation of migrants and financial contributions from the EU migration pact. – I cannot confirm this information – said Maciej Duszczyk, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration on RMF FM.
“I said that there will be no relocation of migrants in Poland and there will be no! It's done. That we will seal the barrier on the border with Belarus – and today it is the best-guarded border in Europe. That we will tighten visa and asylum regulations – and Poland has become a model for others. We do, we don't talk!” – Prime Minister Tusk also wrote on Saturday on the X website.
PAP found in several sources that the final decision on exempting Poland from the obligations of the migration pact has not yet been made.
On August 28, the head of the presidential Office of International Policy, Marcin Przydacz, when asked whether the president would also meet the president of the European Commission, replied that the meeting was not planned.
– There was no request from the European Commission about such a meeting. If such a request comes from Mrs von der Leyen, we will of course analyze it. At this stage, I am not aware that the Commission President asked for a meeting with President Karol Nawrocki – said the minister.
– We all know that these reports, both by Ursula von der Leyen and (German Chancellor) Friedrich Merz, and these positive emotions are rather directed towards the palace on Aleje Ujazdowskie, i.e. the Prime Minister's Chancellery – he noted.
In July, the Sejm adopted a resolution authored by KO expressing opposition to the current wording of the so-called migration pact as not taking into account the realities of border states. The resolution called for changing the current solutions and taking into account the interests of countries particularly exposed to such threats.
The migration pact, which is to divide the responsibility for managing migration in the EU among all member states, was approved by EU ministers in May last year – with the opposition of Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
The regulations include the so-called a mechanism of mandatory solidarity, which assumes the deployment of at least 30,000 people every year. migrants. Countries that do not want to consider their asylum applications will have to pay 20,000. euro for each unconsidered application or provide the so-called alternative solidarity measures, such as the posting of staff. The regulations also assume taking into account which countries are under migratory pressure – so that the less burdened countries help the more burdened ones. (PAP)
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