The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has threatened Poland with reinstating border controls amid the cash-for-visas scandal and has called on the Polish authorities to investigate the matter as soon as possible.
During a Social Democratic campaign event that took place in Nuremberg, Chancellor Scholz said that he does not want Poland “just to wave through migrants”.
At the same time, Scholz stressed that depending on the situation, the country might decide to take measures at its border, including the reinstatement of border controls.
Depending on the situation, we may have to take additional measures at our borders, for instance at that one.
The statement of Chancellor Sczholz follows reports that Polish consulates and some external companies may have granted hundreds of thousands of work visas to foreigners in exchange for money.
Similar to Scholz, amid growing tensions within the EU over irregular migration, Germany’s Minister of Interior, Nancy Faeser, has also called on Poland to appear over this issue.
Berlin said that it expects Warsaw to provide a prompt as well as a complete clarification of the allegations.
The call of Berlin follows the increase in the number of irregular entries. As data provided by the German police show, over 12,000 undocumented migrants were taken in custody at the border with Poland in the first six months of this year.
Moreover, the government previously disclosed that around 204,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in August alone. Such a number represents a 77 per cent increase compared to the same month last year, indicating that the country has been registering a significant increase in the number of foreigners filing asylum applications.
Apart from Germany, the European Union has also required Poland to clear up allegations regarding the visa fraud scandal.
The Spokesperson for Home Affairs of the EU Commission, Anitta Hipper, said that reports on the matter are very concerning and give rise to questions about Poland’s compliance with the law of the EU.
Moreover, Hipper said that the EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson has already written to the Polish authorities, asking them for clarifications.
In her letter, Johansson required the government of Poland to provide an answer on the matter by October 3.
On the other hand, Poland has denied the allegations, responding angrily to queries for clarifications, especially to the one by Berlin.
The Minister of Interior of Poland, Mariusz Kamiński, said that claims of Poland having issued work visas in exchange for money are absurd.
