[1/3]Newly appointed Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk receives the resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland from Polish Speaker of Parliament Szymon Holownia, after he won the vote of confidence for his government, in Parliament, in Warsaw, Poland December 12, 2023. REUTERS/Aleksandra… Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read morePM Tusk says Poland will temporarily suspend right to asylumCoalition partners say they weren’t consultedMigration to feature heavily in 2025 presidential racePoland has faced migrant crisis on Belarus border since 2021WARSAW, Oct 14 (Reuters) – Members of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition government have expressed concerns about plans to suspend the right to asylum, amid unease that the measures may break the constitution and international law.
On Saturday, Tusk vowed to reject any European Union migration policies that Warsaw believes undermine its security and said Poland would temporarily suspend the right to asylum.
Tusk made the comments at a congress organised by his Civic Coalition (KO), amid rising tension in Europe over migration that has seen centrist parties such as KO adopt tougher policies to fend off the populist right.
In Poland, migration has been high on the agenda since 2021, when large numbers of migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, started trying to illegally cross the border with Belarus in what Warsaw and the European Union said was a crisis orchestrated by Minsk and its ally Russia.
Russia and Belarus have denied responsibility.
The issue looks set to play an important role in a presidential election expected in May 2025, and Tusk’s tough stance has broad public support but is criticised by human rights advocates.
Parliament speaker Szymon Holownia, who leads the centre-right Poland 2050 party which forms part of the government, said Tusk was speaking only for KO and that the measures had not been discussed with coalition partners.
“We are of the opinion that the right to asylum is ‘sacred’ in international law,” he said in a Facebook post, adding that any suspension could only take place in a state of emergency.
Tusk swept to power in an October 2023 election pledging to improve relations with the European Union after eight years of feuding between Brussels and Poland’s former nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government over issues including minority rights and judicial independence.
However, even some PiS lawmakers seemed taken aback by the potential human rights implications of Tusk’s plan, with former deputy foreign minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek labelling it “incomprehensible”.
Brussels adopted a new migration strategy in April, but this was criticised by right-wing parties in Europe for not going far enough and Poland has said it will not accept the relocation of migrants under a scheme that aimed to curb migration to the continent.
A European Commission spokesperson on Monday said protecting EU borders was important but “member states have international and EU obligations including the obligation to provide access to the asylum procedure”.
According to Poland’s border guard there have been 27,900 attempts to illegally cross the Belarus border this year, slightly up from last year. Nearly 40,000 migrants tried to cross in 2021 at the peak of migration into Poland through Belarus.
Finland in July passed a law granting border guards the power to block asylum seekers crossing from Russia. In September, Germany announced that it would impose tighter controls at its land borders.
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Reporting by Alan Charlish, additional reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz and Barbara Erling; Editing by Alex Richardson and Ros Russell
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Publish date : 2024-10-14 05:20:00
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