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Poland rejects joint EU statement on migration at Spain summit
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Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, seen on the day of the informal meeting of European heads of state or government. /Juan Medina/Reuters
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, seen on the day of the informal meeting of European heads of state or government. /Juan Medina/Reuters

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, seen on the day of the informal meeting of European heads of state or government. /Juan Medina/Reuters

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Warsaw had rejected a joint statement on migration at the conclusion of a European Union's summit in Granada where the bloc's national leaders had been discussing how to avoid a new migration crisis.

Instead, the joint statement would only address the other issue on the agenda, the bloc's enlargement. "As a responsible politician, I reject the whole paragraph of summit conclusions regarding migration," Morawiecki wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier on Friday that even though Poland and Hungary had expressed their dislike of the EU migration policy, this did not necessarily mean that any final deal on the matter would be blocked.

"They expressed, around the table, their disagreement, which they have already expressed at a ministerial level, but it is not of a nature to block a decision which would be done by a qualified majority," said Macron at a news conference in Granada after a meeting of European heads of state.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also chimed in, rejecting what he saw as double-standards from both Poland and Hungary on their criticism of the bloc's migrant policy.

"One shouldn't send out two different messages and the countries that criticize the EU's migration policy, which is also a common European attempt to deal with irregular migration, should not at the same time be those that wave through those who arrive in their country so that they can arrive in Germany," he told reporters.

 

New shape to EU migration 

The EU's 27 national leaders had met on Friday to look for ways to avoid a new migration crisis and address a longer-term existential challenge of bringing into their bloc new countries, potentially as big and troubled as Ukraine.

Italy and Spain have voiced concern over irregular immigration increasing this year to their islands, while Greek waters in June were the site of Europe's deadliest shipwreck in years, one that killed hundreds of migrants.

Germany, the preferred destination country for many of the migrants reaching Europe, has introduced border checks, saying they are needed to crack down on smugglers bringing people to its territory.

That decision came after Germany reported a nearly 80 percent rise in asylum requests so far this year, a concern for the center-left ruling coalition facing a challenge from the far-right in local elections in Bavaria on October 8.

Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attend a press conference in Granada. /Jon Nazca/Reuters
Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attend a press conference in Granada. /Jon Nazca/Reuters

Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attend a press conference in Granada. /Jon Nazca/Reuters

Neighboring Poland, which has been vocal about its disagreements with the EU over migration, will hold a national election a week later, on Oct. 15.

Warsaw refuses to host new arrivals from the Middle East and Africa, although it has given shelter to several million Ukrainians who fled the conflict.

Other central and eastern EU countries have also put up border controls inside what is normally a zone of open travel, citing the need to crack down on people smugglers and migrants who avoid regular border crossings and arrival procedures.

The top migration official in the EU, home to 450 million people, last week said there had been 250,000 such arrivals so far this year - still far below 2015, when more than 1 million people made it across the sea, overwhelming the bloc.

But the matter is politically sensitive and anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies are on the rise in some EU countries ahead of continent-wide European Parliament elections next June.

 

How to integrate new members?

Also on the agenda of Friday's meeting was the list of countries hoping to join the EU. Countries keen to become members of the bloc include Ukraine, Moldova and some in the Western Balkans. They all must meet numerous requirements to qualify, meaning accession talks take years. In 2020, Britain became the first ever country to leave the bloc.

From economic aid transfers to decision-making to maintaining cohesion, EU leaders were set to look at what needs to change inside their union to allow for another enlargement. A spat between Kyiv and Warsaw over Ukrainian grain exports gives a flavor of the challenges related to integrating a large and relatively poor country, let alone one fighting in a conflict.

"The future of our aspiring members and their citizens lies within the European Union," the leaders said in a joint statement.

"Enlargement is a geo-strategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity ... both the EU and future member states need to be ready."

Poland rejects joint EU statement on migration at Spain summit

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Source(s): Reuters

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