According to a recent survey conducted by Social Changes, half of the Polish population supports the government’s intention to organize a referendum regarding the recently-adopted EU migrant relocation scheme. The ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), which holds strong opposition to the EU’s plans for migrant relocation, aims to hold the referendum within this year.
The survey results indicate that 31 percent of respondents were decidedly in favor of holding the referendum, while 19 percent expressed a rather supportive stance. Conversely, 35 percent of participants were against the idea of a referendum. Among those opposed, 21 percent were decidedly against it, and 14 percent expressed a more moderate opposition.
The majority of support for the referendum came from voters aligned with PiS, with a significant 73 percent endorsing the idea. Additionally, supporters of the far-right Confederation showed a 59 percent approval rate, while followers of the center-right Poland 2050 expressed a 51 percent endorsement. On the other hand, 59 percent of supporters of the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), the main opposition party, spoke out against the referendum.
The survey was conducted in response to the European Commission’s recent proposal for a migrant relocation scheme. The plan requires EU member states to accept an initial quota of 30,000 migrants from countries heavily impacted by migration from the Middle East and Africa, such as Greece and Italy. Alternatively, countries can choose to pay approximately EUR 22,000 per non-admitted migrant. Poland and Hungary strongly opposed these new regulations but were outvoted.
PiS has made it clear that it will continue to oppose the migrant relocation scheme at the EU level.
The computer-assisted survey was conducted on a random sample of 1,041 Polish citizens between June 16 and June 19. The survey was commissioned by the right-wing website wPolityce.pl.