NGOs condemn Donald Tusk's plan to fortify Poland's eastern border
Published on 17/10/2024 - 13:44 GMT+2
The Polish border with Belarus has seen conflict between law enforcement and migrants travelling eastwards, and Germany's decision to temporarily impose border checks has put Poland under further pressure.
NGOs in Poland and abroad have criticised Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's announcement that he intends to temporarily suspend the right apply for asylum in his country.
The proposal is part of a wide-ranging strategy approved by Tusk's Civic Coalition party. According to initial versions of the document published by Polish media, the plan includes limiting the number of people who can apply for a visa, making it harder to obtain a Polish passport, and introducing programmes to help migrants better integrate into Polish society.
The strategy also proposes that Brussels allow EU member states to temporarily suspend the right to submit asylum applications — a move that the European Commission has already warned could be unlawful.
The premier's plan is largely seen as a response to the crisis on Poland's 400-kilometre border with Belarus.
Since 2021, thousands of people have attempted to cross into Poland through thick forests in temperatures that drop to below zero in the winter.
Tusk has said that his government does not want to terminate international agreements that guarantee the right to asylum.
Instead, he says the current rules are inadequate in situations that threaten national security such as the Polish border, where he and others in his government say Russia and Belarus are actively encouraging migrants to try to cross in an attempt to destabilise Europe.
NGOs say that the proposal would do little to tackle problems that exist along the border, a site where both deaths and brutal pushbacks — an illegal process whereby refugees and migrants are sent back across the border they have attempted to cross — have been reported.
"The suspension of the right to asylum at the border is in some ways de facto a reality for us. Particularly in recent weeks, most people who try to cross into the border in Poland never begin the procedure," said Dominika Ożyńska from the Polish NGO Egala.