We cannot explain to a society that has taken in more than a million war refugees from Ukraine that if they do not accept more now, they will de facto have to pay out of their own pockets, because budget money is citizens’ money, said the deputy minister of the interior and administration in Luxembourg Bartosz Grodecki.
Discussions took place in Brussels on plans to reform the EU’s asylum and migration system. As Grodecki said, the EU has made no progress in migration policy in recent years.
If there is a fine or financial contribution, whatever you want to call it, in the amount of PLN 22,000 for a non-taken person. euros, it will not be accepted in any way, it will not be allowed in our country. We cannot explain to the society that has taken in more than a million war refugees from Ukraine that if they don’t take them in now, they will de facto have to pay out of their own pockets, because budget money is citizens’ money
said the secretary of state.
Mechanism without RP approval
He stressed that the EC’s proposal as part of the migration pact should not have any financial consequences for the member states. Grodecki also pointed out that there should be unanimity in the EU on such important matters, and that the proposal should be discussed at a summit of EU leaders.
For us today, this mechanism is politically, but also pragmatically, unacceptable
– he said.
In May, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, presented the ambassadors of the member states with a proposal to reform the asylum and migration system. This is a resumption of the discussion that started in 2015 with the migration crisis in the EU. At that time, some countries did not want to agree to the mandatory relocation of migrants. As a result, the EC initiated infringement procedures against these countries, including Poland.
Polish diplomatic sources then reported that Commissioner Johansson was de facto proposing the introduction of a mechanism for the forced displacement of illegal migrants. As PAP has learned, the Polish side reported that the structure of the proposal does not provide alternative solidarity measures for relocation as it leads to the obligation of member states to pay 22,000. euros for not relocating one migrant, which is a de facto fine.
The EC, in turn, said it had proposed a “mandatory solidarity system” and that member states could “decide on solidarity measures”.
These may include relocation, financial and operational support. It is important that Member States that need support receive it
– said the EC.
There is no solidarity without unanimity
If the solidarity expressed in this document (the Commission’s proposal) is conditional solidarity – that is, either you take migrants with you or you pay a lot of money, because more than EUR 20,000, it contradicts the idea of solidarity. This is no longer solidarity. There is no solidarity without unanimity. And in this case here, we’re not going to agree. We said that clearly
– Grodecki informed during the break of the meeting of the EU’s interior ministers.
We said that after 8 years of discussing migration policy, we are going back to what happened in 2015. So we’re taking a step back to what it was. We know that this will not solve any migration situation in Europe. We know that these mechanisms are ineffective. We know they are temporary. And of course it may be important at this point in terms of national and internal policies for countries with very high numbers of emigrants to say (to citizens): +we have reached some kind of agreement and consensus in the European Union; now we share those migrants, asylum seekers or people requesting international protection among the member states+. But in fact, these people actually know where they want to go. They know where they want to live, so whether they are relocated to Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Slovenia – this is a temporary solution. They go back to where they want to live. So I don’t see any work here. I do not see any benefits that the Member States can actually derive from this proposal
– emphasized the Deputy Minister.
He also recalled that the EU spent an average of €200 each on war refugees from Ukraine.
And we’re talking about 22,000 here, so it looks like the balance is off somewhere. We believe that solidarity is a universal value and each country knows and can judge, within the context of the situation in which it finds itself, within the means at its disposal, how best to express it. So I don’t see the need to dress it in a formal frame and define it in a conditional way. This is absolutely unacceptable to us
– declared Bartosz Grodecki.
We argued, like the Hungarian side, that these issues should be transferred to the level of heads of government, prime ministers or chancellors – to the European Council, where such strictly political decisions should be made. This is a strictly political decision. This is a decision of great importance. This is a migration decision and such solutions must indeed be taken politically
– summed up the Polish politician.
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Mon/PAP
Source: wPolityce