On Monday 14 October, the European Commission recalled the importance for Member States and the EU to protect their “external borders and, in particular, those with Russia and Belarus”, two countries that have exerted “in the past three years a lot of pressure on the external borders”, while at the same time fulfilling their obligations to respect the right to asylum.
On Saturday 12 October, the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, announced his intention to partially suspend the right to asylum for migrants who enter his country illegally, particularly at the Belarusian border, and will ask the EU to endorse this measure.
“We know very well how [the Belarusian leader, Alexander] Lukashenko, [Vladimir] Putin, smugglers and human traffickers use it [the right to asylum]. The way in which this right of asylum is being used goes precisely against the essence of the right of asylum”. “We are not going to respect or apply any European idea that (...) violates our security, and I am thinking here of the Migration Pact”, said Mr Tusk, quoted byAFP.
The ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’, which Poland and Hungary have refused to approve, contains a ‘Crisis’ regulation enabling crossing and registration points for asylum seekers to be closed in the event of instrumentalisation; the time taken to register asylum seekers and the time taken for border procedures can be extended.
These rules, applicable in 2026, do not, however, allow Member States to derogate from “the obligation to examine asylum applications”, the Commission added.
It is “in contact” with Warsaw to find out “what form” this partial suspension will take. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)