Poland proposes temporarily suspending asylum applications at the EU border

One of the elements of this mechanism would be a temporary restriction on the acceptance of asylum applications during a violent attack on the EU's external border, modeled on the Polish approach. The humanitarian dimension is a new element of Polish argumentation. We have experience in combining security with the humanitarian dimension, said Maciej Duszczyk, deputy head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, in an interview with RMF FM.

Will there be a temporary suspension of asylum applications? The EU hasn't decided yet

The European Commission has not yet presented a specific design for such a mechanism. Brussels, however, does not rule out the possibility of temporarily suspending the acceptance of asylum applications, but emphasizes that the matter is still under discussion. As an RMF FM journalist revealed at the beginning of September, Poland is trying to get the EU to adopt its solutions applied on the border with Belarus. Since then, the issue has gained momentum and gained support from many capitals.

However, the possibility of suspending the right to asylum is controversial. Some people are afraid of limiting the right to asylum and consider such a solution inconsistent with international law or inhumane.

Poland has experience in how to combine security issues with humanitarian elements, how to respect the law and values ​​of the European Union, while giving priority to the protection of the European Union's borders - assures Maciej Duszczyk, deputy head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, in an interview with RMF FM.

And it is the humanitarian dimension that Poland now wants to emphasize more strongly. Warsaw wants to show that limiting the possibility of submitting applications at the border with Belarus does not mean completely closing the path to international protection.

Deputy Head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration: Since the beginning of the year, almost 170 applications for international protection have been accepted in Poland

As Duszczyk emphasizes, since the beginning of the year, approximately 170 applications for international protection have been accepted in Poland from people belonging to the so-called sensitive groups. Among them were about 90 women - pregnant women or women with minor children. Poland wants to argue that border protection and a humanitarian approach do not have to be mutually exclusive. The regulations provide for the possibility of accepting applications from people in a particularly difficult situation. In addition, the suspension of the right to asylum is temporary and applies to precisely defined situations.

Duszczyk emphasizes that the Polish solution used on the border with Belarus is legal.

We are of the opinion that our solution used on the Polish-Belarusian border is consistent with the Polish constitution, the Geneva Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights, says the deputy head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration.