Migration will be a top priority for the Polish presidency of the EU Council, at a time when the country has been facing hybrid threats from Belarus and Russia for several years, notably as the instrumentalisation of migration.
While Poland was satisfied in December with a new European Commission communication on the instrumentalisation of migrants for hostile purposes (see EUROPE 13543/1), the six-month presidency of the EU Council should be an opportunity for Warsaw to breathe new life into the European framework on migration.
The country, even as the EU Council presidency, will undoubtedly hold strong positions on this issue.
Poland’s ambassador to the EU, Agnieszka Bartol, at a public event on 12 December, already indicated that, faced with the instrumentalisation of migration as a weapon, “the Pact (on Asylum and Migration) does not hold”. Although Poland will be an “honest negotiator”, it “voted against the pact; it does not respond to current challenges”, she told a panel of journalists.
The country has yet to submit its national plan for implementing the ‘Pact on Asylum and Migration’ and is currently in discussions with the European Commission to clarify its position on this issue. A diplomatic source explained on 18 December that Poland was refusing to implement elements of the pact that would “weaken its security”.
In its official programme, the presidency explains that it will work actively to find new and innovative solutions to current migration challenges, particularly with regard to the security of the EU’s external borders. It is necessary to look for appropriate responses to security threats, including those of a hybrid nature.
“We will work on operationalising selected concepts that were mentioned in the 15 Member States’ letter of 15 May 2024 to the Commission, such as building partnerships with key countries of origin and transit of migrants, in establishing safe places in third countries to provide migrants with a safe alternative to attempting to travel to the EU illegally” (see EUROPE 13411/3).
The aim will also be to strengthen “the effectiveness and sustainability of both voluntary and forced returns by improving cooperation with third countries, using all available leverages, such as visa or trade policies”.
While the Polish presidency will lead initial work on the new legislation expected on ‘returns’ before the end of March 2025 and the presentation of a first European list of safe third countries of origin, Warsaw will seek to step up work on the strategic use of visa policy, including the visa waiver suspension mechanism.
“We will also undertake a discussion on the legal and practical possibilities of countering the instrumentalisation of migration through coordinated action on the external and internal dimensions of migration taken at European level and in the spirit of Team Europe”.
The presidency will also continue to help Ukraine deal with migratory challenges, in particular internal displacement, while strengthening preparedness to adequately manage a possible next wave of war refugees, as well as responding to the needs of those receiving temporary protection who are already in the territory of EU Member States.
“We will discuss alternative solutions to temporary protection for war refugees from Ukraine in order to prevent secondary movements”, says the programme.
Warsaw also wants to work on the proper functioning of the Schengen area and intends to tackle the issue of re-establishing internal border controls, as currently practiced by a number of Member States.
In the context of fighting serious and organised crime, it will pay particular attention to the process of adequately preparing the new cycle of the ‘European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats’ (EMPACT) for 2026-2029.
In response to current challenges in the area of internal security, the presidency will launch a broader discussion on the future and directions for future development of the main EU agencies that support Member States in this area, the programme also states.
Link to priorities: https://aeur.eu/f/ewk
See the draft agendas for Council meetings during the first semester of 2025: https://aeur.eu/f/exi (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)