The migration pact was ultimately approved by the finance ministers of EU nations on Tuesday, despite opposition from Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. This pact aims to comprehensively address migration matters within the European Union, including providing assistance to countries facing migration pressures.
“The minister representing my government voted against the adoption of the migration pact. Poland's position has been clear from the beginning,” the prime minister said. He recalled that the migration pact was negotiated by the government of Mateusz Morawiecki.
He stated that his government managed to obtain provisions in the migration pact that make it “much less threatening in consequence than it was at the beginning.”
“Secondly, we firmly demanded the blocking of the migration pact. We were in the minority, but the Polish government voted against the migration pact,” he said.
Tusk emphasized that the migration pact “adopted in its current form today gives Poland the opportunity to avoid any negative consequences.”
“Poland will not accept any migrants under this title. Poland has accepted hundreds of thousands of migrants in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian war. We also have tens of thousands of migrants from Belarus,” he added.
“This is my task, and I will fulfill this task. Poland will be a beneficiary of the migration pact. We will not pay for anything, we will not have to accept any migrants coming from other directions, and the European Union will not impose any migrant quotas on us. However, Poland will effectively enforce financial support from the EU because it has become a country hosting tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Ukraine,” he said.
Migration pact
The approved migration package comprises 10 legislative texts that delineate protocols for handling individuals attempting unauthorized entry into the EU, ranging from the screening process to ascertain eligibility for protection, to deportation in cases of denied stay.
Furthermore, the new regulations aim to distribute migration management responsibilities across all EU member states. This is to be achieved through a mandatory solidarity mechanism, requiring the relocation of a minimum of 30,000 individuals annually. It involves providing assistance to countries experiencing migration pressures by other member states. Alternatively, EU countries can opt to pay €20,000 per non-admitted individual or engage in operations at the EU’s external borders.
Before Tuesday's vote, Finance Minister Andrzej Domański informed journalists that Poland would oppose the pact, citing dissatisfaction with the final solutions. He emphasized the pact’s oversight of specifics concerning countries
bordering Belarus and the insufficient consideration of the “relationship between responsibility and solidarity.”
Poland had declared its intention to oppose individual legislative acts forming part of the migration pact as early as February. The Ministry of Interior and Administration highlighted that negotiations on the so-called migration pact concluded a week before the current government took office, precluding its participation in the process.
The level of engagement in the solidarity mechanism will be determined by the European Commission, considering factors like population size and GDP of EU member states.
Countries may seek exemption from participation, citing migration pressure within their borders. Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson stressed that Poland’s acceptance of Ukrainians could lead to a partial or complete exemption from participation.
The adoption of the pact signifies the EU’s successful reform of its migration policy and asylum system for the first time in 20 years. The need for reform became apparent in 2015 when nearly a million individuals illegally crossed EU borders, placing undue pressure, particularly on southern European countries such as Greece, Italy, and Malta.
