go to the original language article
The issue of counteracting illegal migration will be one of the three priorities of the Polish presidency in the EU Council in the area of internal security, Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak informed on Monday. He emphasized that it is the number one topic among EU interior ministers.
During the conference, Minister Siemoniak presented priorities in the area of internal security during the upcoming Polish presidency in the EU Council. They include: counteracting illegal migration; monitoring and neutralizing security threats; increasing the capacity of the EU and its member states in the areas of civil protection, rescue, and humanitarian aid. The Polish presidency in the EU Council will begin on January 1, 2025, and will last 6 months.
“The first topic, a topic that also engages our public opinion very much and is the number one topic among interior ministers in the Union, is obviously the issue of counteracting illegal migration,” he pointed out. According to the minister, a completely new policy and new solutions are needed here.
The Interior Minister recalled that recently the Council of Ministers adopted a migration strategy, and last week the government meeting adopted a package of laws related to migration issues, granting international protection to foreigners, and employment of foreigners in Poland. He added that the EU supported Poland with over 50 million EUR for the protection of the external border.
The second priority area, as stated by the Interior Minister, is monitoring and neutralizing security threats through combating organized crime. This particularly concerns the issues of human trafficking, drug trafficking, and the production of new types of drugs. “We are able to make significant progress during our presidency, strengthen cooperation, and strengthen the exchange of information,” Siemoniak indicated.
He added that the third priority is matters of civil protection, rescue, and humanitarian aid. Siemoniak referred to the law on population protection and civil defense recently signed by the president.
The minister also announced that at the end of January, an informal meeting of ministers of internal affairs and justice in Warsaw is planned. “These priorities or the general foundation of our presidency: attention to security issues is accepted as something absolutely obvious,” he emphasized.
“Intensive weeks await us from January 1, as it not only involves a meeting of ministers but also meetings of ministers with commissioners, meetings in parliamentary formats, police formats, and rescue service formats. It is a great effort for all of us, but also a great opportunity to push through what we consider important during these six months,” said the Interior Minister.
The Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszczyk, referring to Poland’s presidency in the EU Council, stressed that Poland succeeded in convincing member states to address today’s most important topics. Among them, he mentioned issues of migration and borders.
“We pointed out the need to adapt the European migration policy to new challenges. These challenges are not only related to our Polish-Belarusian border but also the overall effectiveness of migration policy,” said Duszczyk.
He pointed out that one of the EU’s problems is the presence of undesirable persons in the EU who do not have the appropriate residence status and are very difficult to return to their countries of origin. “Therefore, at the January Council, we will discuss this issue,” said the Deputy Interior Minister.
Duszczyk noted that the European Commission mentioned six months ago that during the Polish presidency, it would not be able to present a specific document on this matter, but according to the latest information, such a document will most likely be presented at the beginning of March. “This will allow us to discuss the issues of returns, the effectiveness of return policy, and also deportation in the European Union still at the March Council, to have very clear conclusions in June. This is our priority,” said the Deputy Minister.
He also drew attention to the need to abandon controls at the EU’s internal borders and to emphasize that these controls are only temporary. “We know that this cannot be achieved without certainty that we have secured external borders,” he said.
He added that among the other priorities of the ministry during the Polish presidency is also the issue of defining so-called safe third countries and the topic of war refugees from Ukraine. “We will want to start discussions on the presence of war refugees from Ukraine still in March. (…) We know that the current directive ends in March 2026; certain solutions must follow,” he indicated. According to the decision of the European Council, temporary protection for war refugees from Ukraine was extended until March 4, 2026. (23.12.2024)