– Some of these migrants do not see their destination in Poland but intend to move further west. And if they get into Poland, it’s the Schengen Area and it will be much easier for them to get into Germany, France, Belgium and several other countries. This is why these countries also fully understand and support our actions,” said Deputy Justice Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk in an interview with Michał Rachoń on the TVP Info programme #Jedziemy.
From Thursday, the state of emergency has been in force in the border zone with Belarus, i.e., in parts of Podlaskie and Lubelskie Voivodeships. It includes 183 villages. It was introduced for 30 days by presidential decree, issued on the proposal of the Council of Ministers. The government argued this was due to the situation on the border with Belarus, where the Lukashenko regime is waging a “hybrid war” using migrants. In Usnarz Górny (Podlaskie Voivodeship), a group of immigrants who want to get to Poland have been camping for several weeks.
Michał Rachoń asked Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęek how Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian partners viewed the issue of Polish actions concerning the border crisis.
“They express solidarity with such active defence of the border by Poland. It is our common task to show solidarity in this very determined and consistent approach to the fact that the eastern border of the European Union must be protected if the EU countries are to be safe,” he said.
“But of course, we look at Poland’s interest first. This is a question of our safety. If our border is not tight, if people come across it in large numbers and are not caught, then of course there is no way of checking who is coming across the border, and this is a question of the fundamental security of our country and our citizens. This is the priority,” – the politician said.
The deputy minister pointed out that some of these migrants do not see their destination in Poland, but intend to move further west.
“And if they get into Poland, it’s the Schengen Area and it will be easier for them to get into Germany, France, Belgium and several other countries. Therefore, these countries are also referring to our actions with full understanding and support,” he said.
“The solidarity towards Poland expressed by the leaders of the Baltic States is therefore not only regional, but is currently the solidarity of the entire European Union, and in this context, I am very surprised, as an MEP who took part in yesterday’s debates, that some of the opposition do not understand all this. I emphasize “part of the opposition” because I had the impression that some people in the hall even felt forced to participate in this spectacle in such opposition roles and do not feel comfortable with it because when Minister Kamiński and Prime Minister Morawiecki took the floor, at times I saw consternation in the opposition benches that “why are we actually against,” – stressed Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk