Euractiv, “Poland sticking to its ‘zero-refugee’ policy”, 25 Aug 2017:

While migrant relocations reached record levels this year (peaking in June with over 3,000) Poland and Hungary remained steadfast in their refusal to participate in EU-mandated resettlement efforts. EURACTIV Poland reports.

Despite the fact that the European Commission has initiated an infringement procedure against Poland – along with the Czech Republic and Hungary – for “non-compliance with their legal obligations on relocation”, Poland is maintaining its stance – as, the Minister of the Interior and Administration, Mariusz Błaszczak, said in a letter to the European Commission on Wednesday (23 August).

In the same letter, Błaszczak informed the Commission that Poland has applied for cancellation of the infringement procedure.

Błaszczak’s views on the relocation scheme have also been consistent. “Stating that the relocation system will heal the refugee problem is false, it’s a lie. EU policy is harmful, not to say suicidal, as regards open borders,” he said in May, explaining, “Poland will not accept any refugees.”

In Wednesday’s correspondence, Błaszczak repeats his position that the relocation solution is wrong and dangerous, reiterating that national safety is the sole responsibility of each EU member state.

“We do not agree to exceeding the EC’s Treaty rights to interfere in the national powers with regard to security, integration and social issues,” he wrote.

“Paris, Stockholm, Brussels, Berlin, Manchester, Barcelona. How many more European cities must be still attacked by terrorists to make European Union wake up? To make the European Commission finally admit that ‘blindly’ accepting everyone who reaches Europe’s coast is like looping a rope around Europe’s neck,” Błaszczak added.

Polish Government: System of relocating “refugees” a mechanism “inciting millions to Europe”

Visigrad Post, “For the Polish government, the attacks in Barcelona demonstrate once again the need for Europe to return to responsible immigration policies”, 18 Aug 2017:

Poland – There was an official condemnation of the attacks in Catalonia by Prime Minister Beata Szydło and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement in which Poland, like other countries, naturally expresses its solidarity with Spain and its will to stand with other states that are fighting terrorism. But there have also been other things that we would like to hear from leading circles in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain and Scandinavia, who are on the front line against Islamic terrorism.

Polish Deputy Minister of Defense Michał Dworczyk said: “The terrorist attack in Barcelona is another proof that migration policy and security policy must be conducted in a very thoughtful and responsible way (…). The security situation in Poland is, among other things, the result of the government’s consistent policy,” said the Deputy Minister, who asked that European leaders “review their ideas on migration policy”: “We are all shaken by the information that comes to us from Spain, and we share the pain of the families of the victims. However, we can not ignore the fact that we have a serious problem in Europe with the influx of illegal immigrants. It is a very bad idea to invite people who can not be controlled, which can not be said to pose a threat to EU citizens. […] I hope that these dramatic events will also be an occasion for reflection for certain officials of the European Commission and some EU political leaders, the opportunity to review their ideas on migration policy and forced relocation of people whose identity can not be established with certainty. […] In Poland, we do not accept and we will not accept that enclaves take place with people who do not assimilate, who do not want to belong to the society.”

In the same vein, the Polish Minister of the Interior Mariusz Błaszczak explained on the evening of the Islamist attack in Barcelona that “Poland is safe, it is not confronted with this kind of situation, there are no enclaves where people do not integrate to the country where they emigrated”. He also confirmed, promising that his country would not give in to the demands of the European Commission, that the PiS government would do everything to ensure that this does not change and would not accept the relocation in Poland of “refugees”. This is all the more so because, as the minister reiterated, the system of relocation of “refugees” is a mechanism “inciting millions of people to cross the sea to come to Europe”, and that “this has a tragic end, we are dealing with a clash of civilizations, it must be said openly and this is the problem of all Europe”. And this is why the Polish Minister of the Interior believes that “Europe must close its doors”.

These new attacks are also an opportunity to recall the dramatic appeal launched by the Polish Prime Minister in May to the Europeans: “We will not accept any blackmail from the European Union. We are not going to take part in the madness of the elites of Brussels! We have the courage to ask the political elites in Europe: where are you heading, Europe? Get out of your lethargy, for otherwise you will cry every day your children!”