WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland is likely to introduce partial controls on its border with Germany in the summer if the number of migrant crossings continues to grow, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told lawmakers on Wednesday.
Tusk’s liberal government has faced accusations from the nationalist opposition that it has been accepting numerous illegal immigrants being sent back from Germany based on European Union rules. The government argues that the numbers are very limited.
He added that every group of migrants sent back from Germany will be checked very carefully.
“If the situation on the border, the pressure (worsens)… I will not hesitate to make a decision to introduce temporary controls. It is likely that we will introduce such partial controls on the border with Germany in the summer,” Tusk said.
“I know all too well what illegal migration means for the future of Poland, for the future of our civilization,” he told lawmakers.
Tusk also said he does not rule out restricting visa-free travel from some countries whose citizens have been associated with criminal incidents in Poland, such as Georgia.
Poland has been facing what it says is a migrant crisis orchestrated by Belarus and Russia on its eastern border since 2021. Both countries deny encouraging migrants to cross.
(Reporting by Barbara Erling, Pawel Florkiewicz, Alan Charlish; writing by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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