Mateusz Morawiecki renewed his stance at a summit of the Visegrad Group of countries (V4) in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Monday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Morawiecki held talks with Slovakia’s Prime Minister Ľudovít Ódor, the Czech Republic’s Petr Fiala and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, focusing on support for Ukraine, economic cooperation, European policy, security issues and the priorities for the Czech presidency of the V4, which starts on July 1, according to officials.
V4 states oppose EU plan for 'mandatory relocation of migrants': Polish PM
At a joint news conference afterwards, the Polish prime minister said: “The V4 countries have risen to the occasion when it comes to welcoming refugees from war-torn Ukraine. That is why today we also very much share the same approach to migration.”
Morawiecki added: “We are unequivocal in calling for protection of the EU’s external borders … We won’t accept any quotas or apportionments of migrants. We are clear that Europe needs to have mechanisms in place to guard against external migration.”
The Polish prime minister told reporters that migration policy “is one of the key attributes of a sovereign country.”
He added that Poland would not accept "having its migration policy subordinated to other mechanisms or serving the interests of other countries.”
Morawiecki argued that if Poland approved such rules, “sooner or later there would be a big, uncontrolled wave of illegal migration from various countries.”
He said Poland "has previously faced a situation in which the presidents of Russia and Belarus sought to destabilise Poland through artificial migration through our eastern border.”
Morawiecki declared that, at an EU summit later this month, he would propose “ways to craft migration policy in the EU so that it benefits the whole bloc and honours the sovereignty of member states, including Poland, in responding to migration challenges.“
‘The situation in Russia is highly uncertain’
Morawiecki told reporters it was vital that Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary adopted a shared stance on the situation in Russia, in the face of Saturday’s aborted anti-Kremlin mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner group of mercenaries.
The Polish prime minister said: “The recent events in Russia, this move by Prigozhin, has shown that the situation in Russia is highly uncertain.”
He stated: “We discussed this situation and how to respond … and how to monitor the situation very closely and keep the finger on the pulse together with our NATO allies.”
Morawiecki told the news conference that ”Russia has yet again shown to be an unpredictable country and that’s why our shared stance on Russian problems is so important.”
Security issues, energy policy, EU-NATO cooperation
The Polish prime minister also stated that the V4 countries were “focused on strengthening security” as well as economic cooperation and new investments.
He added that the talks in Bratislava had also touched on energy issues, including ways “to secure gas resources for next year.”
The V4 prime ministers also discussed their countries’ positions ahead of the European Council summit later this month, including the EU’s security and defence capabilities, and the bloc’s cooperation with NATO in the context of the military alliance’s July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the IAR news agency reported.
EU countries agree new migration deal
On June 8, EU interior ministers reached an agreement on a plan to overhaul the bloc’s asylum and migration procedures, the PAP news agency reported.
Poland and Hungary voted against the new asylum and migration package, according to news outlets.
The plan will form “the basis for negotiations” between the Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, officials said.
Under the proposed migration package, EU countries would be bound by “mandatory solidarity” in migration policy, while having flexibility “as regards the choice of the individual contributions,” from admitting relocated migrants to making financial contributions, the PAP news agency reported.
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.
Meanwhile, financial contributions from member states would be fixed at EUR 20,000 per relocation at a minimum, according to the PAP news agency.
“These figures can be increased where necessary and situations where no need for solidarity is foreseen in a given year will also be taken into account,” the European Commission said.
The plan effectively means that each EU country would have “a choice between admitting relocated migrants or making a financial contribution for every migrant it refuses to admit,” the Polish state news agency reported, citing a high-ranking EU diplomat who it said took part in the negotiations.
On June 15, Polish lawmakers adopted a declaration against the EU’s proposed new migration package.
Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary together form a four-nation regional cooperation platform known as the Visegrad Group, or V4.
All four countries are members of the EU and NATO.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 488 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, dorzeczy.pl
Click on the audio player above to listen to a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.