Future of liberal democracy in The EU depends on migration policy, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on the eve of the summit of European heads of state and government in Brussels, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
At the meeting of the European Council, Warsaw will call for a tougher approach on the issue.
"The future of Europe and Poland is at stake here," Tusk told the daily newspaper "Gazeta vabragowa", referring to the security at the borders of the Union. "The question is who will provide (security) - the right-wing populists or liberal democracy."
Poland's government last night adopted a new migration strategy allowing the eastern European country to temporarily stop accepting asylum applications, a move that outraged human rights activists but resonated well with voters ahead of next year's presidential election.
Poland has been grappling with a migration crisis along its border with Belarus since 2021. Warsaw and the EU say it is being orchestrated by Belarus and Russia, which are deliberately directing flows of migrants from the Middle East and Africa to their borders. Moscow and Minsk deny the accusations.
In many European countries, centrists like Tusk have taken a harder line on migration in order to quell the rise of their opponents from the nationalist and far-right sectors.
To address member states' concerns, the EU has proposed to toughen its position on the issue.
Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the bloc's executive body, the European Commission, has written a letter to the leaders of the 27, who are meeting tomorrow for a two-day meeting in Brussels, informing them that the EC intends to seek a solution on ten specific questions related to the challenges arising from migration.
But the news announced by Tusk that Poland intends to temporarily freeze the right to asylum caused a shock.
Various critics, from migrant aid NGOs to lawmakers from opposition nationalist political forces, said such a step would violate the constitution and international law.
Leading representatives from Polish business circles and economists added that migration is beneficial for the economy.
However, Tusk indicated that the measure was necessary and stressed that it would be a temporary response to Russian and Belarusian attempts to destabilize Poland.
"Observing all the rules in an environment where the political asylum formula is abused and used by our enemies makes the state completely helpless," he said.
The migration strategy, which aims to introduce a more targeted approach to the granting of work and student visas, as well as encourage Poles abroad to return home, was passed despite the opposition of four left-wing cabinet ministers , states the government website.