“For years, while still in my role as head of the European Council, I was strongly against so-called forced solidarity. Among other things, because I was the head of the European Council, this mechanism has never been implemented and Poland will never be part of such a mechanism”, said Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference after a meeting of the Council of Ministers, when asked about the mechanism of forced relocation of migrants.

Prime Minister Tusk said that there would be no Polish approval or acceptance of any forced relocation mechanism for migrants. “I assure you that Poland will not accept illegal migrants under any such mechanism. I closed these issues a long time ago, I see no reason to repeat it again”. he added.

At the end of last year, representatives of EU member states, the European Parliament and the European Commission reached agreement on the main political elements of the Pact on Asylum and Migration.

Five acts of EU legislation were adopted at the time:

The Screening Regulation: establishing uniform rules for the identification of third-country nationals on arrival, thereby enhancing security in the Schengen area.

Eurodac Regulation: concerning the creation of a common database with more accurate and complete data to detect unauthorised movements.

Asylum Procedures Regulation: increasing the speed and efficiency of asylum, return and border procedures.

Asylum and Migration Management Regulation: establishing a new solidarity mechanism between Member States to balance the current system whereby a few countries are responsible for most asylum applications. This regulation also includes provisions on responsibility for asylum applications.