Logo Polskiego Radia

European Council President Tusk says EU needs middle ground on refugees

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 23.10.2015 10:30
EC President Donald Tusk has said that the EU should find a middle ground in order to successully cope with the current refugee crisis.
The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, delivers his speech during the second day of the European People's Party (EPP) Congress in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2015. Photo:  EPA/J.J. GUILLENThe President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, delivers his speech during the second day of the European People's Party (EPP) Congress in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2015. Photo: EPA/J.J. GUILLEN

Speaking at the Congress of the European People's Party (EPP) in Madrid, the former Polish prime minister said that we can no longer allow solidarity to be equivalent to naivety, openness to be equivalent to helplessness, freedom to be equivalent to chaos.

We must end at once this completely unnecessary argument between the proponents of protecting external borders and the advocates of solidarity and openness,” Tusk argued.

Both are among us here today,” he noted.

What we need is a rational hybrid of both ways of thinking.

We cannot pretend any longer that the great tide of migrants is something that we want, and that we are conducting a well thought-out policy of open borders.”

Tusk argued that we have lost our ability to protect our borders, and in this sense, our openness is not our conscious choice, but a proof of our weakness.”

On the other hand, we cannot give in to populism and xenophobia, because our political aim should be to strengthen Europe against right-wing extremists, and not to become like them.”

The EU Council president argued that collective responsibility and effective actions on our borders will allow us to re-build genuine solidarity among Member States, and to bring an end to the shameful arguments over relocation.”

He claimed that ordinary citizens... expect their leaders to fulfil the basic duties of public authority.”(nh/rk)

Print
Copyright © Polskie Radio S.A About Us Contact Us