In a letter dated October 7 and made public on Thursday by presidential chief of staff Paweł Szefernaker, Nawrocki said he expects the Commission to take this position into account as it prepares migration plans due by mid-October.
He argued that Poland has faced sustained, regime-driven migration pressure on its eastern frontier and is already funding the protection of the European Union’s external border while supporting refugees from Ukraine.
Marcin Przydacz, head of the Presidential Bureau of International Policy, said the letter was timed because the Commission presents its annual migration plans by October 15.
He told reporters before flying with the president to Estonia that Warsaw would not accept decisions that, in the government’s view, would undermine Poland’s internal security.
He added that, in practical terms, Poland will not receive relocated migrants.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński echoed that stance after a weekend meeting of ministers at a migration summit in Munich.
He said Poland supports joint European work on migration and asylum policy, however he stressed that Warsaw rejects any provisions that would oblige member states to relocate migrants.
In July, the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, passed a resolution that opposed the current wording of the European Union’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, arguing it does not reflect the realities of border states.
The New Pact on Migration and Asylum aims to share responsibility for managing migration across the European Union.
It includes a “mandatory solidarity” mechanism. Each year at least 30,000 migrants would be relocated among member states, while countries declining to process asylum claims would pay EUR 20,000 per person or provide other forms of support.
The rules include measures to direct more help to states under the greatest migration pressure.
The Polish government said in April last year that Warsaw would not agree to the EU's relocation mechanism for migrants, despite its approval by the European Parliament.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP