Poland condemns EU migrant relocation plan

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Poland slammed a plan by the European Union to relocate migrants and asylum seekers within the bloc, with the country's parliament passing a resolution against it, local media reported on Thursday.

Speaking during a debate in parliament on the resolution, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said keeping the country safe is their utmost priority, so they would continue to oppose the plan, the state-run PAP news agency reported.

Calling decisions by the EU and in particular Germany in 2014-2016 that led to an influx of millions of refugees in Europe a “fatal mistake,” he said it had made many European cities unsafe.

“It’s not a migration pact, it’s a diktat that is aimed at changing Europe culturally,” said Morawiecki.

“It is the Sejm (Polish parliament), not the Bundestag, and we have every right and obligation to vote in favor of Poland’s interests.”

Under the proposed migration plan, EU countries would be bound by “mandatory solidarity” under the bloc’s migration policy while having flexibility “regarding the choice of individual contributions.”

Accordingly, the EU would commit to at least 30,000 relocations per year “from member states where most persons enter the EU to member states less exposed to such arrivals,” officials said.

The deal also includes a provision under which EU countries that refuse to host refugees would be required to pay a sum of €20,000 ($21,893) per person into a fund managed by Brussels.

“We Poles know perfectly well what compassion and solidarity are. No one will teach us solidarity, and especially not the Germans,” said Morawiecki.

“We don’t consent to illegal immigration or to any payment for unaccepted migrants. We will not agree to this (deal).”