The Polish government is spearheading a rightist pan-European movement to halt the EU’s migrant redistribution scheme.
Under that scheme, EU member states must submit to a quota-based system for hosting refugees, or incur a financial penalty of €22,000 for each person rebuffed. The deal, which did not require a unanimous vote, was adopted on June 8th. Poland and Hungary voted against, while five other member states (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Malta) abstained.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, of the country’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, is now openly lambasting the EU’s edict. On his Facebook profile, the PM assured his people on Friday, June 16th, that “the security of Poland and the safety of Polish children, women and families is an absolute priority of the Law and Justice government,” adding:
That is why we say a loud ‘no’ to the forced relocation of illegal immigrants. We will not pay for the mistakes of European multicultural policy. We know how to distinguish solidarity from coercion and dangerous ideological projects.
In a letter published that same day in Super Express, he cited the generosity Poland had shown towards refugees (since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Poland says it has taken in one million Ukrainian refugees) but stressed such gestures should be made freely. He wrote:
Poles do not need to be taught or forced to help others. We are a nation with a big heart. Did we then ask for war refugees to be relocated to other countries? None of these things. But today they want to force us to accept people who do not want to live with us. The worst thing is that it is not about asking for help, but about diktat and imposing conditions for help.
He went on to point out that “the problem of illegal migration has been growing in Europe for years,” as [former German Chancellor]
Angela Merkel even invited refugees to come. Today we see how naive and reckless German immigration policy was. Now Germany and other countries want to share the cost of their mistakes with Poland. Meanwhile, the answer to illegal immigration is simple—you need to seal the borders.
The PM stressed that “as long as Polish affairs are managed by the Law and Justice government, Poles can feel safe,” concluding that “sovereignty is sacred—we will not allow anyone to violate it. We, not the EU, will set the rules in our home.”
The day before, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński announced his party would organize a referendum, telling the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, that “Poles must speak out on this matter.”
In addition, Poland’s parliament is about to adopt a resolution that would allow the government to exercise its veto power during the next EU summit, where its main ally on the issue, Hungary, is also expected to let its voice be heard.
Conservative opposition parties from Germany and Austria are taking countermeasures as well.
Wanting the matter to be put to a popular vote, Austria’s most popular party, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) launched an online petition entitled “Austria’s Fortress against illegal mass immigration.”
On his Facebook page, FPÖ’s leader Herbert Kickl noted the “devastating consequences of uncontrolled mass migration,” which are becoming “increasingly apparent,” such as stabbings, rapes, and murders.
Decrying the fact that Austria’s borders are “still open like barn gates” as illegal migration “continues to flourish,” he lambasted the ruling ÖVP (Austrian People’s Party, led by Karl Nehammer), from which, he said, “there is only the usual and unbelievable PR show.”
Austria, therefore, has to “become unattractive as a country of asylum,” which would require “consistent deportations and deportations.” This is only possible with a “Fortress Austria,” he said. In his introduction to the petition, Kickl enjoined: “Let us, as a state, also regain self-determination and sovereignty in the area of asylum.”
Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party also took issue with the plan, finding it insufficient for tackling the migration issue, while condemning the country’s current policy.
In a June 9th press release, MP and spokesman for the interior affairs of the AfD parliamentary group Gottfried Curio said:
Under pressure from the German government, unaccompanied minors can easily cross the external border without stopping, including via expedited procedure. The same applies, for example, to entire families arriving from Syria. They also do not deal with the problem that 80% of those arriving in Germany were previously able to pass through the EU without registration.
“Even after distribution within the EU,” the politician warned, “secondary migration to Germany will happily continue,” as long as the will and the mechanisms for an effective deportation system are not created there. He went on to accuse Brussels of perpetuating false principles, such as the one which views a person as a refugee when entering the EU even if he has already traveled through many safe third countries.
In addition, he said, the EU missed its opportunity to sensible address the dramatic overload [of migrants], especially in Germany. “The crucial problems have not been addressed at this moment, especially since Germany lacks any political will to do so,” he added.
It remains to be seen whether Poland and Hungary’s initiative can draw enough parties and MEPs so that a substantial enough counterforce can show up at next month’s Council Summit.
