Poland's Tusk vows to defend EU border amid asylum row

By Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday he would protect his country's eastern border, dismissing criticism that a plan to temporarily stop accepting asylum applications violated human rights.

Tusk will be among European Union leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday, with the bloc set to tighten its stance on migration as the issue becomes increasingly sensitive for governments - in particular those seeking to fend off challenges from the eurosceptic and nationalist right.

"Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow in Brussels we will defend the Polish border and we will use all legal instruments," Tusk told lawmakers. "Poland cannot be and will not be helpless."

He was addressing parliament after President Andrzej Duda used a speech in the chamber to add his voice to a chorus of criticism of the asylum policy adopted by the government late on Tuesday, saying it would harm Belarusian dissidents fleeing repression.

Poland has become home to thousands of opposition supporters from its eastern neighbour since Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko won an election in 2020 which critics say was rigged.

Migration looks set to play a key role in a 2025 presidential election in Poland, which has been grappling with a migrant crisis on its border with Belarus since 2021.

Warsaw and the EU say Belarus and its ally Russia have orchestrated the situation by funnelling people from the Middle East and Africa to the border, something Minsk and Moscow deny.

Tusk said Duda's criticism of the asylum plan was "stupid" as the policy was aimed at migrants sent deliberately by Belarusian authorities.

"There has not been a single case of Belarusian opposition figures crossing the Polish border in groups organised by Lukashenko," he said.

He also hit back at criticism from human rights activists who say refusing to accept asylum applications, even on a temporary basis, breaks Poland's constitution and international law.

"Nobody is talking about violating human rights, the right to asylum, we are talking about not granting applications to people who illegally cross the border in groups organised by Lukashenko," he said.

The migration strategy, which also aims to introduce a more targeted approach to granting visas to workers and students as well as to encourage Poles living abroad to return, was adopted despite dissenting opinions from four left-wing ministers, the government's website said.

It will now be subject to public consultations and then would be put into bills which will have to be adopted by the parliament and signed by the president to come into force.