The Polish Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights, Hanna Machińska, described on Monday 7 February, before the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE), a situation that is still very “difficult “ for migrants who arrived in Belarus, some of whom are still in extreme conditions, in the cold and at the mercy of “ill-treatment by the Belarusians”.
Ms Machińska deplored that this situation affects “families, children and pregnant women” and that some of these people are kept in the dark about their right to seek international protection.
She also criticised the Polish law, which since the end of 2021 makes “pushbacks” of people possible, a “very inhumane”system, she said, “in violation not only of the Polish Constitution, but also of European and international law”.
The Deputy Commissioner also denounced the practice of keeping children in closed centres - more than 400 children are said to be in this situation - “ when this is not their place”.
Under Polish law, people who enter through unofficial border crossings can be immediately deported and a new border protection law also prohibits access to the area by the media or certain NGOs. She criticised these texts, but said that partial access is now being organised.
While her compatriot Patryk Jaki (ECR, Poland), from the PiS party, said she lacked “objectivity” and that most of the migrants who arrived had been transferred to open centres, several MEPs supported her, such as Anne-Sophie Pelletier (The Left, France), who asked why the Commission was delaying “launching an infringement proceeding against Poland”.
Status quo on measures for Poland, Lithuania and Latvia
For its part, the EU Council has not yet made any progress on resolving the deadlock reached on 28 January over the exceptional measures proposed to Poland, Lithuania and Latvia to deal with the situation of migrants at the border with Belarus (see EUROPE 12879/1). The French Presidency of the EU Council remains open to a deal, it says, after Poland rejected a compromise on 28 January.
The Permanent Representation of Latvia to the EU claimed, on Tuesday 8 February, that the situation on the border remains tense. “We believe that the proposed EU Council decision could still be useful, especially if the situation worsens or deteriorates again”, the Representation said.
“The compromise proposal offers the necessary flexibility to the Member States concerned”. “We therefore hope that the work on the compromise proposal will continue in order to reach an agreement as soon as possible”, the Latvian Permanent Representation added.
The text “can be useful as one of the complementary instruments in our common toolbox addresses the challenges of the instrumentalisation of migration flows at the EU border”, the Representation said as well. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)