On Friday 28 January, the national ambassadors of the Member States to the EU were unable to validate the compromise text presented by the French Presidency of the EU Council on exceptional measures for Poland, Lithuania and Latvia to manage the situation on the Belarusian border (see EUROPE 12877/4).
With objections from Poland and new requests for derogations, according to one source, it was decided to suspend consideration of the text.
The French Presidency of the EU Council will have to say in the next few days whether to adapt the text or abandon it, another source said.
Without agreement on this proposal for an EU Council decision, the Presidency was therefore unable to trigger the consultation process with the European Parliament either.
Poland had expressed its reservations early on about the text, which extends the time limits for registering asylum applications and provides for adjustments to the Reception Conditions Directive. A text which it said would open the door to new arrivals of migrants and would be too generous, while the European Parliament considers that it violates the fundamental right to asylum.
Warsaw put forward amendments on Friday, but the final text did not meet its expectations, an EU diplomat said. However, Poland did not block the text, the diplomat stressed, and said that it could still apply to Lithuania and Latvia, both of which were satisfied with the compromise.
This would have meant that Poland was requesting an opt-out from this decision, which was intended for it, and this was not considered acceptable by the French Presidency of the EU Council. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)