Migrant Hypocrisy in Poland

"This is the biggest scandal we have faced in the 21st century."

"Corruption at the highest levels of government, bringing a direct threat to all of us."

"And it’s because of people whose mouths are full of phrases about security."

Senate Speaker Tomasz Grodzki, Poland

Members of a group of some 30 migrants seeking asylum are seen in Bialowieza, Poland, on May 28, 2023 across a wall that Poland has built on its border with Belarus to stop massive migrant pressure. . (AP Photo/Agnieszka Sadowska)

Poland's Law and Justice party is being rocked by reports that Polish consulates issued visas in Africa and Asia in exchange for bribes, opening the door for migrants to enter the European Union. What has emerged is a scandal, painting Poland as a hypocrite in its stance against admitting migrants into the country. An issue that the country's governing party planned to use as a key campaign theme leading to the country's national election.

And leaving itself open to the government's major opposition leader, Donald Tusk -- a former prime minister, former elite European Union official -- accusing the current conservative government of saying one thing, committing to another entirely in admitting large numbers of foreign workers belying its anti-migrant rhetoric and the erection of a border wall between itself and neighbouring Belarus ostensibly to keep migrants out of Poland.

Polish media and Tusk as leader of the opposition Civic Coalition accuse the government of having admitted roughly 130,000 Muslim migrants the year before -- anti-migrant statements aside -- which had targeted non-Christians. The government, they now allege, is working toward the relaxation of restrictions. Pressure from international work agencies and home-grown corruption, they state, are involved in the scandal.

The surprise firing several weeks ago of Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk led to suspicions the government had opened the doors to Middle East migrants with a dismissal linked to the state Anti-Corruption Office conducting an inspection of the Foreign Ministry, focused on the consular and visa department that Wawrzyk headed.

The governing populist Law and Justice party could be seriously injured by the accusations, ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for October 15. The party escalated its usual anti-migrant rhetoric in the election campaign, in seeking an unprecedented third term in office. The dismissal of the Deputy Foreign Minister, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki contends, resulted from "unsatisfactory cooperation" by Wawzyk in government business.

Officials have been trying to find a formula that would ensure people seeking protection in Europe are more evenly distributed across the EU countries | Olmo Calvo/AFP via Getty Images

 

Warwrzyk had made a "mistake", going beyond the government's migration policy framework by preparing new regulations, according to government spokesperson Piotr Mueller. According to media reports, new rules would have admitted temporary workers from about twenty countries. Up to 350,000 visas may have been issued in the past three years, against regulations, according to two opposition lawmakers.

Eurostat, the EU statistics bureau, states that in 2022 Poland saw fit to issue some 700,000 "first residence" permits to citizens of 148 non-EU countries. As such, it was recognized as the bloc's top issuer of permits. And although recipients of the visas were permitted to stay in Poland exclusively, the border-free Schengen Area in the EU allows travel within the bloc.

A diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity revealed that stamped Polish visas could be purchased directly from a stand located outside the Polish Embassy in an African country, where all that had to be done to complete it was to fill in the migrant's name, according to Private Radio ZET. An inspection had revealed the situation, cutting it short.

The diplomat continued revealing that due to pressure from officials in the unnamed African country, the program was resumed. For its part, the Interior and Administration Ministry denied that permission had been given to large numbers of migrants, to enter the country. "Less than 30,000 workers from Muslim countries came last year to Poland", it avers.

Poland and diplomats from Europe’s eastern half vent about the payments | Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images