Poland not to accept migrants under new EU migration pact, says PM

People displaced by Russia-Ukaine war selecting clothes donated by others in Medyka, Poland, Feb. 26, 2022. [Xinhua]

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that "Poland will not accept any migrants" under the newly adopted European Union's (EU) pact on migration and asylum.

Tusk told a press conference after a meeting of the Council of Ministers that his government voted against the pact. He said the pact "adopted in this form, as today, gives Poland the opportunity to avoid any negative consequences. Poland will become a beneficiary of the pact."

He stressed that Poland, which has taken in hundreds of thousands of migrants, will not be obliged to accept further migrants, and the EU will not impose any migrant quotas on Poland.

The prime minister also said that his country will effectively enforce financial support from the EU in relation to hosting migrants from the bloc's eastern neighbors.

Ten legislative acts that reform the European framework for asylum and migration management were adopted by member states on Tuesday. The new pact seeks tougher borders and shared responsibility for asylum seekers among the EU members.