Catalog of questions for Warsaw
Brussels confronts Poland over visa scandal
September 20, 2023, 1:29 a.m
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Polish consulates are said to have sold thousands of visas to Africans and Asians. While the ruling PiS party is downplaying the scandal, the EU Commission is demanding clarification. The list of questions should be sent back to Brussels shortly before the elections take place.
In the scandal surrounding illegally issued entry visas by Polish consulates, EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson has called for a full clarification in a letter to Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau. As the “Bild” newspaper reported, the EU Interior Commissioner set October 3rd as the deadline for answering the questions. Twelve days later, Poles elect a new parliament.
In the letter, which was available to the “Bild” newspaper, the commissioner pointed out to the politician from the ruling PiS party that the behavior of the Polish authorities could constitute “a violation of EU law and especially of the EU visa code.” She called on him to “take all necessary steps to clarify the matter.” The questions in the letter concern, for example, information on the expulsion and disappearance of visa holders, but also measures to protect the common Schengen system against fraud.
A visa scandal is currently causing a great deal of excitement in Poland, which is putting massive pressure on the right-wing conservative government in particular just a few weeks before the parliamentary elections: Polish officials are said to have illegally issued thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of visas in exchange for payment, especially in Asia and Africa. These are said to have included Schengen visas. The opposition then accused the government, which was raising anti-migrant sentiment during the election campaign, of having brought “hundreds of thousands of migrants” to Poland.
Kaczynski doesn’t see “even an affair”
According to Polish media reports, the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw is at the center of the scandal. Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk, who has since been suspended, is said to have set up an illegal network to smuggle migrants from Asia and Africa through the Polish consulates – and through external companies that are said to have been paid for the smuggling.
The PiS is trying to downplay the matter. “This is not an affair, not even a little affair,” mocked party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski. But on Friday, the released Wawrzyk was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. According to the government, he is said to have tried to take his own life.