The measure gives Poland, along with other nations bordering Russia and Belarus, extra resources to strengthen defenses against what officials have called “hybrid attacks” using migrants as a geopolitical tool.
Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, attending an EU interior ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Thursday, said the Commission’s move validates Warsaw’s long-held security arguments. “The Commission has recognized our position on border protection,” he told reporters, noting that the funds will support the fortification of Poland’s frontiers with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave.
Siemoniak added that the Commission is also allowing EU member states greater leeway in deploying exceptional measures—such as temporarily suspending asylum rights—under strict, short-term conditions. The announcement follows a strategy to bolster security amid what Poland and other countries describe as orchestrated attempts to funnel migrants across their borders to destabilize the bloc.
The minister noted that Poland’s cabinet is poised to finalize national decisions on migration policy next Tuesday. After the government recently adopted a broader migration strategy, Siemoniak said ongoing talks—both at home and within the EU—reflect an evolving response to unprecedented pressures at Europe’s eastern borders.
(jh)
Source: PAP