“Pushbacks at the Poland-Belarus border are generalized and systemic,” said Egala Advocacy Lead Aleksandra Gulińska. “We continuously come across people in the forest who have been forcibly returned to Belarus by Polish authorities.”
Despite such allegations, the European Commission in December allocated €52 million to bolster surveillance and infrastructure along Poland’s eastern border. In announcing the decision, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted that Poland and other border states are on the front lines of “hybrid threats” emanating from Belarus and Russia.
Belarus has played a central role in steering migrants toward the European Union, allegedly to destabilize the bloc, with state-controlled travel agencies offering them visas and transport. Once at the border, Belarusian security forces escort the migrants toward Polish territory while blocking their retreat.
When Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk replaced the country’s right-wing populist government in 2023, rights groups hoped his more EU-aligned stance would soften his country’s approach at the border. Instead Tusk’s government has tightened policies, reintroduced exclusion zones and approved a law allowing the temporary suspension of the right to seek asylum. Migration remains a key issue ahead of the country’s May presidential election.
While Brussels has avoided confronting Tusk’s government over the pushbacks, it is threatening legal action over Poland’s refusal to take in asylum-seekers under the EU Migration Pact, which requires member countries either to accept a quota of asylum-seekers or to contribute to a financial solidarity mechanism. Last week the Commission warned Warsaw it could face penalties for refusing to comply.
Until now, Warsaw has refused to budge.
