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Polish deputy foreign minister: accepting refugees must remain voluntary

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 26.08.2015 09:08
EU countries should be able to decide how many refugees they are willing to accept, said Polish deputy Foreign Minister Rafał Trzaskowski.
Migrants rest in a park next to the main railway and bus station in the center of Belgrade, Serbia, 25 August 2015. Photo: EPA/KOCA SULEJMANOVICMigrants rest in a park next to the main railway and bus station in the center of Belgrade, Serbia, 25 August 2015. Photo: EPA/KOCA SULEJMANOVIC

On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande called all EU countries to comply with EU rules governing the acceptance of refugees and of examining asylum applications.

"Germany and France expect all member countries to fully implement the right of asylum as quickly as possible," Merkel said.

Trzaskowski commented that Poland was among the first countries to implement measures which would allow it to accept asylum seekers from refugee camps in Greece and Italy.

"As the European Council and the EU Council, we have decided on a programme to prevent the wave of refugees [arriving in Europe],” Trzaskowski said.

“It is based primarily on the fact that we must clearly distinguish between refugees and economic migrants, and should develop a list of safe countries to which we will refer economic immigrants, because we simply cannot afford to accept them,” Trzaskowski said.

The EU asylum programme is set to last two years. Poland has agreed to take on 2,000 asylum seekers as part of the programme.

“This is a programme for the next two years. Poland mainly depended on the fact that this [relocation and resettlement] programme was on a voluntary basis, so that Member States could decide to the best of their ability on the reception of refugees,” Trzaskowski said. (rg/rk)

Source: PAP

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