Authorities in Poland are once again dealing with an increased number of migrants who are attempting to reach the country illegally through Belarus. Based on a report by InfoMigrants, Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik characterised the surge as a ‘planned action.’ In 2021, with hundreds of migrants to the EU crossing illegally per day, authorities in Poland declared a state of emergency along their border with Belarus. Their decision to build a wall came as part of a fight against Russia. But, since 2022, some human rights defenders see a huge double standard in groups of white Christian refugees from Ukraine – mostly women – being welcomed to Poland, while Muslims from Syria – mostly men – were rejected. The state of emergency is set to be lifted on July 1st this year, and, according to a Polish Press Agency source, the EC plans to relocate 30,000 to 120,000 migrants to EU countries. Brussels is ready to penalise such a move. If a country refuses to accept a quota, the state is expected to face a fine of around €22,000 for each person they refuse to accept.
Poland’s ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sado, stated on Wednesday that Poland will continue to oppose any EU plans to impose mandatory migrant quotas on member countries. He said that demanding payment of €22,000 for each un-admitted migrant stands in „crass disproportion” to the €200 per capita the EU has channelled in aid for the more than one million Ukrainian refugees currently residing in Poland.
