Visit to Rome: The Polish Foreign Minister met with Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The main topic was migration and the protection of borders, both national and European. In his speech, Radosław Sikorski stated that Poland's migration strategy "further emphasizes the community of interests." He also said, "We stand in solidarity with Italy on the problem they face in the south." - In our case, migration is organized by national states hostile to Europe and Poland, but the problem is the same, namely that our societies demand the restoration of control - he added.
Asylum Rights: Sikorski noted that both Poland and Italy "want the external borders of the Schengen zone to be under control." - Consulates, border guards, and visas must mean something, and as a group of sovereign states, we have the right to decide who enters and who does not - he said. He also explained that Poland suspends the right to asylum only temporarily and territorially. - What we intend to do is temporarily, for example, for 90 days, territorially, meaning only in selected municipalities or districts along the Polish-Belarusian border, deny the right to apply for asylum to those groups of men, almost always aggressive, so-called immigrants - he explained.
Italy's Response: Antonio Tajani stated that "Poland is threatened by a migrant invasion, triggered by Russia." He acknowledged that he is monitoring the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border and emphasized that countering illegal migration must be "a joint European-level effort."
In mid-October, the Polish government adopted a resolution on the migration strategy for the next five years. A key element of the new policy is the temporary, territorial suspension of asylum rights. "The migration strategy for 2025-2030 is titled 'Regain Control. Ensure Security.' However, the government is announcing actions that, in our opinion, will have the opposite effect - deepening chaos and lawlessness at the border, which poses a threat to the security of our community," said Grupa Granica in a statement published on October 17. Activists also pointed out that "the suspension of the right to apply for international protection is a violation of Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the Geneva Convention, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Article 56 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland." "By announcing the temporary and territorial suspension of the right to apply for international protection (commonly referred to as asylum), Prime Minister Donald Tusk is effectively attacking human rights and halting the process of restoring the rule of law," the statement added.
The organization further emphasized that violence and pushbacks at the border "are the antithesis of control." "The key to regaining control is the application of law, the creation of legal migration pathways, the implementation of smart reception and integration policies, and the coordination of efforts between services, institutions, and non-governmental organizations," they concluded.
