Minister: Poland Will Veto Forced Relocation of Migrants

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: AP

Poland's interior minister says the nation will veto any plan by the European Union that would oblige member states to accept set numbers of migrants.

Last year, Poland and other countries in the region opposed a plan to redistribute over 120,000 migrants from Africa and the Middle East among the EU members. Warsaw agreed to accept no more than 7,000 asylum-seekers.

Mariusz Blaszczak said Tuesday that Poland would veto any new relocation plan that would impose quota of migrants to be accepted, saying such a plan would encourage more arrivals.

Blaszczak also said that Poland will "most probably" introduce temporary border controls in July when it will host NATO summit and world youth's meeting with Pope Francis.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/minister-poland-veto-forced-relocation-migrants-36519696

[pampango]

1. The RW government in Poland is a threat to much more than refugees and immigrants.

The assault on democracy in Poland is dangerous for the Poles and all Europe
The loathing of the EU’s liberalism, both in economics and morality, has fuelled the rise of the autocratic regime

Politics and the media were vigorous, occasionally filthy, but free. And yet now democracy seems to be in danger. Less than three months after the election of a rightwing government with an absolute majority, young and old protesters gather roaring in the streets. The EU commission, unexpectedly prompt, has opened an inquiry into whether Poland has broken the union’s “democracy rules”.

Lech Wałęsa, ex-president and leader of the 1980 Solidarity revolution, says that the new government is making Poland ridiculous. Tempting to agree. The minister of defence thinks the Protocols of the Elders of Zion (that ancient antisemitic forgery) are probably genuine. The minister in charge of security was actually serving a suspended sentence for abuse of power and slander when he was appointed. The foreign minister thinks that the 2010 Smolensk air crash, in which President Lech Kaczyński and all his retinue perished, was a murder planned by President Putin.

And yet, even if the actors are ridiculous, the Polish drama is not. It is dangerous. And the danger is both to Poland and to the safety of Europe. Law and Justice (PiS by acronym) has in a few short weeks packed the Constitutional Court, politicised the appointment of prosecutors, abolished court consent for state access to private internet accounts and brought public broadcasting under direct government control.

The other Poland, usually better educated and better off, is desperate to preserve what it sees as the historic achievement of 1989: the first reasonably stable and prosperous liberal democracy in Polish history. True, this split between traditional nationalists and liberal reformers has been visible for years. Maps of election results have often shown the ghostly boundaries of the partitions: old-fashioned religious patriotism where Russia once ruled, more open minds and liberal views in the old Prussian and Austrian zones.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/17/poland-rightwing-government-eu-russia-democracy-under-threat

[uppityperson]

2. Interesting how the headline and article seem at odds with each other

I know you didn't write the headline.

[smirkymonkey]

3. This is Merkel's mess, other countries - especially those that are not as

economically advantaged as Germany - shouldn't have to pay for her mistake.