The opposition of Poland and Hungary to the EU’s migration pact prevented the adoption of a joint final declaration that would have also included the topic at the European summit held in the Spanish city of Granada on Friday, so European Council President Charles Michel issued a separate statement on the topic of migration, and a joint the summit declaration refers only to other topics on the agenda, including EU enlargement.

• Read also: Tension at the EU summit in Granada: Poland and Hungary are accused of introducing a “dictate” on migration / Viktor Orban: “Compromise is impossible”

“I am the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland. I am responsible for the safety of Poland and its citizens. Therefore, as a responsible politician, I officially reject the entire paragraph with the conclusions of the summit on migration,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on the X social network.

The European Pact on Migration and Asylum was an important topic on the agenda of the European Summit after the agreement of the Crisis Regulation on the Agreement on the Review of the European Asylum Policy, adopted by a qualified majority of the EU states on justice. and the Council of the Interior (JAI) that took place last week, AFP and EFE agencies reported, quoted by Agerpres.

The deal, which will form the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament on the final text, tightens rules on the right to asylum but also includes mandatory refugee quotas for member states or, alternatively, a contribution of around €20,000 for each migrant who was refused. .

Poland, which together with Hungary voted against the agreement, called the contribution actually a fine. The two countries also dispute the procedure for adopting the agreement, namely the neutralization of some member states’ opposition by using a qualified majority instead of consensus.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán compared this way of decision-making to “rape”. “If you’re being legally raped, forced to accept something you don’t want, what’s a possible compromise? It’s impossible,” he explained.

Along with this month’s parliamentary elections, Poland’s government has also called a four-question referendum, one of which is for the population to decide on “accepting thousands of illegal migrants from the Middle East and Africa as part of the forced resettlement mechanism imposed by the European Union.” bureaucracy”.

Regarding EU enlargement, another important topic on the summit’s agenda, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference after the meeting that the process would be based on “merit” and “without cuts.”

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