EU asks for clarification about Polish visa controversies

The European Union has told Poland to investigate and address claims of lots of fraud with visas linked to the country’s ruling party.

According to Polish media, migrants gave money to Polish consulates and private companies to make their visa applications faster. The amount they paid could be as high as $5,000 (£4,000).

A spokesperson for the European Commission said they asked Warsaw to answer specific questions within two weeks.

The Polish government said the claims of widespread fraud were ridiculous.

Germany has also told Poland to give information about how many visas were given and the nationalities of the people who got them.

On Tuesday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser spoke to Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski about some very serious accusations.

The Polish government said that many visas were given out unlawfully, but they disagree with the opposition’s belief that the actual number is a lot more.

The Law and Justice party (PiS) is known for being very strict against immigration. They are campaigning against immigration ahead of the national elections on 15 October.

During a very heated campaign, the opposing party has referred to it as “the largest scandal we have encountered in the 21st Century” and “corruption in the highest ranks of the government”.

It gives around a few hundred thousand visas for people from Asia and Africa.

“I said no to the crazy actions of the other side that are causing harm to Poland,” Mr. Kaminski stated, talking about his conversation with the German person on the other end of the line.

The minister being worried is normal. “I told Poland’s Radio Zet that I comforted her and advised her not to believe this nonsense. ”

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk was fired at the end of August when the accusations came out.

The foreign ministry is being checked and inspected, and Poland’s anti-corruption bureau has searched the ministry.

The government department said it would cancel all agreements with outside companies that have been doing visa applications work since 2011.

Seven people were accused of something, and three of them are still being held in jail.

The Law and Justice party wants to be in power for a third time, but it’s not clear if they will get enough votes to have full control in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The other side has used the scandal to say that the government’s rules on reducing immigration are not working.

Poland put up a long fence made of steel along its border with Belarus last year. They did this to prevent migrants from entering their country. They also sent many soldiers to help with this task.

In late 2021, Warsaw experienced a big problem when migrants were stuck at the border in extremely cold weather. The government said that Belarus was purposely directing the migrants towards the border in a negative and unfriendly way.

Poland strongly opposes the EU’s idea of transferring migrants from countries with lots of arrivals to other member states.

In the past few weeks, immigration has been a big topic in Europe. Italy asked the EU for assistance because 8,000 migrants came to the island of Lampedusa in just three days.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said on Tuesday that moving migrants to different places was basically encouraging the human trafficking business.

The ruling party is against a new movie by director Agnieszka Holland that talks about the problem of people moving across the border with Belarus. The government is accusing Green Border of hurting the reputation of Poland and disrespecting those who protect their country, even though critics have liked it.