“Poland’s western border is ceasing to exist,” Mariusz Błaszczak, a senior PiS politician, warned final week. He blamed Tusk’s “servility towards Berlin.” Sławomir Mentzen, a Confederation chief, accused the Polish Border Guard of cooperating with Germany in accepting unlawful migrants.
The federal government has denounced these assaults. “Don’t play politics with Poland’s safety. This isn’t the time or place for such actions,” Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s inside minister, mentioned on X.
Poland’s retaliatory controls have additionally put Merz’s border coverage within the firing line, with Germany’s left-wing opposition portray Warsaw’s determination as a transparent setback.
“It is a devastating sign for a German authorities and a ‘international chancellor’ Merz, who promised to regain belief in Europe,” Chantal Kopf, a lawmaker for the Greens, informed POLITICO.
Knut Abraham, a member of Merz’s conservatives and the federal government’s coordinator for the German-Polish relationship, in an interview with Welt additionally warned in opposition to lasting checks. Whereas they’re “crucial as a political sign that migration coverage in Germany has modified … the answer can’t be to push migrants forwards and backwards between Poland and Germany or to cement border controls on each side,” he mentioned.
Merz on Tuesday defended Germany’s border checks.
“We naturally wish to protect this Schengen space, however freedom of motion within the Schengen space will solely work in the long run if it’s not abused by those that promote irregular migration, specifically by smuggling migrants,” he mentioned.
