In an interview on Radio Zet, President Andrzej Duda confronted the growing issue of illegal migrant pushbacks at Poland’s borders. He underscored Poland’s vital role in defending the European Union’s external frontiers and pointed out a troubling pattern of migrants being deliberately sent to Poland by outside forces, which jeopardizes the nation’s security.
President Duda contrasted the fortified eastern border with the increasingly vulnerable western border. “From the east, we guard the border because it is also the border of the EU and Schengen Area. On the other hand, we have a friendly border within the Schengen Area that we do not guard, yet someone brings us migrants by force,” he remarked.
He did not hold back in criticizing recent illegal actions by German authorities. “It is, of course, an illegal action, scandalous when the German police cross the border in their patrol car, taking advantage of the lack of border control, and perform pushbacks—returning migrants to Poland. It violates all procedures,” Duda stated, emphasizing that such acts undermine Polish sovereignty and strain diplomatic relations.
To tackle these breaches, President Duda called for strong diplomatic and political responses and revealed plans to discuss the matter with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “We need to take diplomatic actions and firm political interventions in this situation,” he asserted.