In a resolute response to recent speculations regarding the European Commission’s intention to reinstate obligatory migrant quotas for member states, Poland’s ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sados, declared on Wednesday that Poland would vehemently oppose any such plans. Sados’s statement came in the wake of a meeting between Ylva Johansson, the EU commissioner for home affairs, and the standing ambassadors of EU member countries, during which a proposal on quotas was reportedly put forth.
According to a reliable source within the Polish Press Agency (PAP), the proposal suggests that countries refusing to accept the assigned quota of migrants would be required to pay approximately EUR 22,000 for each individual rejected. Ambassador Sados firmly conveyed Poland’s stance, affirming that the country would not acquiesce to such quotas. Poland, along with several other EU states, had strongly opposed the imposition of quotas back in 2015 when the migration crisis unfolded in Europe, leading to the initiation of an EU law violation procedure against Poland.
During the Wednesday meeting, Ambassador Sados reportedly expressed his concerns to Commissioner Johansson, highlighting the stark disparity between the proposed payment of EUR 22,000 per migrant and the mere EUR 200 per capita that the EU has provided in aid for over a million Ukrainian refugees currently residing in Poland. Sados deemed the demand for payment as “crassly disproportionate.”
Insiders suggest that the European Commission intends to relocate anywhere between 30,000 to 120,000 migrants among EU countries as part of their plans. However, Poland’s unwavering resistance to the reintroduction of quotas could pose a significant challenge to the implementation of such proposals within the EU.