If the Schengen Zone is to be maintained, the European Union’s external borders must effectively be controlled, the Foreign Minister of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski, has said.
Sikorski’s comments came as a response to several European countries’ decisions to reintroduce border controls in an effort to combat irregular migration, among others, Schengen.News reports.
The Polish Foreign Minister responded to journalists during his visit to the Netherlands. The minister said various countries have been introducing different measures to deal with migration, among them Italy and its centre for migrants in Albania, and Germany with the reintroduction of border controls.
New Migration Strategy for Poland
Arguing that the migration process must not increase the level of uncertainty in the daily lives of residents of Poland, on October 15, the country unfolded the migration strategy for the next five years called “Regain Control. Ensure Security. Comprehensive and Responsible Migration Strategy for Poland for 2025-2030”.
As part of the objectives of Poland’s New Migration Strategy, provided by the Polish government, is also the proposal to suspend the right to submit asylum applications temporarily.
The new strategy highlights that urgent changes are required when it comes to migration issues due to the increased immigration in several countries.
The same notes that, particularly, this concerns the recognition of a country’s right to refuse access to its territory to a foreigner who uses an asylum application for similar purposes, such as using Poland as a transit country.
According to the strategy, the same principle should also apply to internationals who pose a threat to society.
Poland Subject to Migration Pressure from Belarus
Since 2021, Poland has been subject to pressure from undocumented attempts to reach this territory from Belarus. However, earlier this year, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko once again said his country has no intention of stopping migrants from passing through Belarus as a transit country to reach other EU territories.
Last month, Poland’s Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the Polish-Belarusian border is experiencing increasing pressure, and the situation is becoming more serious.
To deal with the migration situation, authorities in Poland said they allocated €2.3 billion to reinforce its border with Belarus.
Source: https://schengen.news/poland-eus-external-borders-must-be-effectively-controlled-if-schengen-is-to-be-maintained/
