Polish border guards catch 120 illegal migrants in Macedonia

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said it was his job to convince other European Union countries to ditch a migrant relocation scheme.

“These mechanisms are a magnet attracting further waves of refugees,” Błaszczak said while speaking to Polish Border Guard officers posted to Macedonia.

Błaszczak said the Polish guards in Macedonia showed Poland’s “solidarity”, adding that the Polish Border Guard was “a model for other such groups in Europe” and that Poland’s guards “were proof that Poland can ensure its borders are air-tight”.

In September 2015, EU leaders agreed that each country would accept a number of migrants over two years to alleviate the pressure on Greece and Italy, which have seen the arrival of tens of thousands of people from the Middle East.

EU leaders agreed to relocate a total of about 160,000 migrants of more than two million people who arrived in Europe since 2015.

But Brussels has opened a case against Poland, which is yet to accept any migrants under the European Union plan, while across the bloc, only about 25,000 people have been relocated.

Poland’s previous government pledged to accept a few thousand migrants but, after coming to power in October 2015 elections, the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party has vocally opposed the programme. (vb/pk)

Source: PAP