Poland announced Saturday it will shut the door completely to refugees because the government views them as a security risk.
Poland is among the European countries with the smallest refugee influx over the past year. The ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) previously said it wouldn’t allow any refugees without a thorough vetting process, but will now refuse to take any refugees at all. (RELATED: Polish Magazine Cover Sums Up What They Think Of Refugees)
“After recent events connected with acts of terror, [Poland] will not accept refugees because there is no mechanism that would ensure security,” Jarosław Kaczyński, the PiS chairman and former prime minister, said Saturday. “This is the position of the prime minister and the whole of PiS.”
PiS came to power in October after a landslide victory attributed to the party’s hardline immigration and anti-EU policies. The party’s first months in power have polarized the country, and thousands of people protested against the government Saturday on the streets of Warsaw.
“Politicians from the current opposition not so long ago claimed that is able to accept any number of refugees,” Kaczyński said of the protests. “Those who are marching today — supposedly in defense of democracy — wanted to impose on us the forced acceptance of immigrants.”
Kaczyński’s remarks come after a recent suggestion from the EU to impose a $285,000 fine for any refugee a country refuses to take. Kaczyński says such a policy threatens the sovereignty of European nations. (RELATED: EU Wants To Fine Countries $300,000 For Each Refugee Rejection)
“We have to oppose that because we are and we will be in charge in our own country,” Kaczyński said.
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