Poland to veto EU migration plan at summit next week: PM
Poland will uphold its opposition to the European Union’s plan to relocate migrants between member states at the bloc’s informal summit in Spain next week, the prime minister has said.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki meets reporters in Warsaw on Friday, September 29, 2023.PAP/Albert Zawada
Mateusz Morawiecki made the declaration at a news conference in Warsaw on Friday morning, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The prime minister said: “”I am going to the European Council next week where I will uphold my veto on illegal migration.”
Morawiecki added: „This is an attempt to attack not only the sovereignty of Poland and other member states, but also an attempt to destabilize the EU in a non-democratic manner.”
On Thursday, the EU’s top migration official Ylva Johansson said the bloc was set to agree on how to handle irregular immigration, with Germany and Italy concerned over rising arrivals ahead of key elections, the Reuters news agency reported.
The EU’s executive Commission has proposed a system for the sharing out across the EU of asylum seekers who reach Europe outside of official border crossings, according to news outlets.
Last month, Poland’s lawmakers approved a government plan to combine the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 15, with a nationwide referendum on issues including illegal migration.
Voters will head to the ballot box to elect 460 new MPs and 100 senators for a four-year term.
The ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party and its government coalition allies have maintained a clear lead over the opposition in most recent surveys, polling ahead of the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), the far-right Confederation group, and the Third Way coalition of the rural-based Polish People’s Party (PSL) and the centre-right Poland 2050 grouping.
The ruling conservatives in 2019 won a convincing victory over opposition parties at the ballot box, securing a second term in power.
(pm)
Source: PAP, Reuters, rmf24.pl
