May 1, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Poland and Hungary “blocked” the free entry of illegal immigrants into the EU, Greece … agreed

Despite opposing geostrategic approaches, Warsaw and Budapest have united in their desire to avoid the arrival of migrants in their countries.

The summit on migration issues was “torpedoed” by Hungary and Poland. The leaders of these countries do not recognize the decision taken by the strong majority in Luxembourg on June 8 on the internal aspect of migration and the mechanism of mandatory solidarity, therefore they continue to block the conclusions.

In essence, this is a plan that will enable illegal immigrants to freely enter the European Union, under the pretext that this will help to overcome the networks of smugglers, carriers of illegal immigrants.

For their part, both countries are calling for asylum seekers to be received at the borders EU on a voluntary basis, as opposed to the final text, which provides for external border controls by Member States such as Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain and Portugal and a mandatory payment of €20,000 for each foreigner not accepted by another EU Member State .

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki explained why he disagreed: “Yesterday I requested that the text of the opinion clearly state that this procedure will be voluntary and not mandatory. And what did I hear from the other side? That this cannot be mentioned. make this procedure mandatory.

It is worth considering that Hungary and Poland are two opposite poles of the European Union: on the one hand, the most pro-Russian (Hungary) government in the EU, and on the other, the most anti-Russian (Poland).

Yet, despite different approaches to geopolitics, the two governments have come together to do what is right for their countries. The problem for them is twofold, as they may not face the crowds of illegal immigrants from Africa and Asia like the countries of the European south (Greece, Italy, Spain), but they have a big problem of Ukrainian refugees who fled their country because of the war. .

At the same time, the silence of Athens raises questions, why did the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis vote in favor? And where is the right-wing opposition in Greece? Why have the opposition parties not made a single statement yet?

Probably the Greek government voted yes because they were promised money. As we mentioned above, the final text provides for the control of external borders by EU member states such as Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain and Portugal, as well as the payment of money for each foreigner who is not admitted.

In addition to the Greek government, the Italian government, led by Georgia Meloni, also voted “yes”, despite the fact that earlier before the elections they spoke out strongly against illegal migration.

As chairman of the ruling Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, George Meloni has been calling for a ship blockade in the Mediterranean since 2018 to stop migrant ships. However, after her government came to power, they changed their policy 180 degrees. Were they also promised money?



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