Premier Andrzej Duda recently expressed his surprise and concern over the announcement made by Prime Minister Tusk. He stated, „You were wrong then, and I am afraid you are wrong now,“ during a session in the Sejm. The government’s problem lies in the fact that the changes announced by Tusk can only be implemented through legislation. This is because Article 56 of the Constitution states that „foreigners may enjoy the right of asylum in the Republic of Poland on the terms specified by law.“ In practice, this means that it is impossible to address this issue through some legislative bypass that would bypass the head of state.
The Prime Minister responded to the President’s criticism by stating, „No one here is talking about suspending the right to asylum. That is not true. We are talking about not accepting asylum applications from people who, organized by Lukashenko (Alexander, the leader of Belarus), illegally cross the border,“ said the head of government.
The issue of handling the matter in the Sejm may encounter difficulties, as the Left has distanced itself from the asylum changes. Their ministers voted against the government’s migration strategy at a government meeting precisely because of the provisions regarding asylum issues. Therefore, at least for now, the leader of the Civic Coalition will not be able to count on their support in the Sejm. „It is not possible to support it because most likely this provision will not crystallize. Andrzej Duda will not sign it,“ noted Anna Maria Żukowska, head of the Left’s parliamentary club.
Theoretically, the government could rely on the opposition’s votes, but although there were initially voices from PiS about possible support, the situation changed after President Duda’s speech. „Tusk has a coalition, let him look for a majority there,“ said a politician from Jarosław Kaczyński’s party.
On the other hand, the coalition can already count on the votes of the Confederation, whose representatives drew specific conclusions after the parliamentary clash between Duda and Tusk.
„It is worth noting that President Andrzej Duda, in his speech, attacked the Prime Minister for his announcements regarding asylum, apparently not knowing the details, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in his response to the President, clarified his announcements, stating that there is no talk of ’suspending asylum,‘ but of suspending the acceptance of asylum applications from immigrants illegally crossing the border. This is a very reasonable idea that should be urgently passed by the Sejm,“ wrote one of the Confederation leaders, Krzysztof Bosak.
The idea proposed by Tusk was supported by Poland 2050, but with conditions that will likely slow down the legislative process. „Further processing of the solutions proposed in the strategy must be preceded by social consultations with representatives of, among others, local government, entrepreneurs, and civil society organizations,“ announced Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Minister of Funds from Poland 2050, on social media.
Moreover, the temporary suspension of the right to asylum will not depend solely on the decision of the Prime Minister or the government. The strategy includes a provision guaranteeing that the temporary suspension of the consideration of asylum applications, in the event of a serious threat, should only be possible under parliamentary control, with special protection for vulnerable groups (children, pregnant women).
For now, despite the resistance from some coalition partners and sharp criticism from the President, the government intends to quickly carry out legislative work.
„We are proceeding with the amendment of two laws: on border protection and on foreigners. This will be preceded by discussions in our country and in the EU. This is such an important issue that there should be no shortcuts. This is about the security of Poland,“ our government source emphasized.
When asked how quickly work will begin, we only hear, „immediately.“
Our government source noted that President Duda, expressing his doubts in the Sejm, referred to the situation of people repressed by the Lukashenko and Putin regimes, who may seek refuge in Poland. According to the head of state, the regulation proposed by the Prime Minister may prevent such individuals from entering Poland.
According to our government source, this is a narrowing argumentation from the head of state, which will be easily refuted in potential negotiations with the Presidential Palace.
„We are only talking about a temporary and territorial suspension of the right to submit asylum applications. This is completely unrelated to Ukrainians or Belarusians. Our regulation concerns migrants illegally crossing the border. Belarusians will not reach it because it is guarded by border guards. So what President Duda is saying is absurd,“ our source stated.
Minister Pełczyńska-Nałęcz expressed a similar opinion.
In such a case, the recognition of the right of the state, which is the target of a hybrid attack involving the instrumentalization of migration, to refuse foreigners access to its territory to apply for international protection, due to a probable threat to internal security resulting, also indirectly, from the actions of entities responsible for facilitating illegal migration, is evident from the provision contained in the document.
As seen, the government intends to develop the defense line that Prime Minister Tusk tried to counter President’s arguments in the Sejm. The head of government stated that there was not a single case where people trying to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border included individuals repressed by Lukashenko’s regime, and therefore could expect to be accepted in Poland.
Tomasz Żółciak and Grzegorz Osiecki, journalists from money.pl.