Morawiecki says he wants safe Poland, no illegal immigrants
Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, has said he wants a "normal state" for Poles without the illegal immigrants the opposition, allegedly, is intent on bringing into Poland.
At a meeting on Friday with residents of the southern town of Lubin, he said that the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party wanted no "illegal immigrants" in the country.
"We want normality, peace and a safe future for all Poles. This is a key part of our vision for us," Morawiecki said.
The governing coalition, which is dominated by PiS, has made immigration a key issue ahead of October 15's general election, and has frequently accused the opposition of being soft on the issue.
It has also included two questions related to the subject in a referendum it intends to hold on the same day as the vote; one of which covers an EU plan for countries to take quotas of migrants in order to share the burden.
In his speech, Morawiecki directed comments towards Donald Tusk, the leader of Poland's main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), Manfred Weber, the head of the European People's Party (EPP), and Rafał Trzaskowski, the deputy head of PO and the mayor of Warsaw, saying that they could not avoid the consequences of the referendum.
"Mr Tusk, Mr Weber, Mr Trzaskowski. We are holding a referendum so that you cannot escape from this pillory, so that you cannot escape from this question - so crucial for the Polish nation, for all Poles," he said.
PiS wants "normality and a normal state," Morawiecki reiterated.
But at a press briefing on the same day, Trzaskowski said that Poland is exempt from the EU's migrant relocation pact.
"This pact does not apply to us because the European Union does not require Poland to accept any additional refugees," he said.
"It is also clear in the EPP that if any mechanisms were to be accepted, Poland will be excluded from them," Trzaskowski continued.
"We received our brothers and sisters from Ukraine and for the next 10 years there will be no need to accept any refugees in Poland," he added.
"I assure you, no refugees will come to Poland in the next 10 years, unless PiS lets them in, on fake visas that it sells in Asia and Africa," Trzaskowski said referring to a cash-for-visa scandal that has rocked the Polish Foreign Ministry.
