BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Poland and Hungary refused on Friday to sign up to conclusions of a European Union summit over two paragraphs on migration, a move diplomat said aimed to demonstrate their anger over being outvoted earlier this month on new migration rules.
The vetoed section deplores the loss of life of migrants trying to reach Europe, commits to fight trafficking and calls for more work to solve the migration problem. It had to be removed from the summit conclusions, which require unanimity, and re-branded as conclusions of the chairman of the meeting.
The veto exercised by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has no consequences for EU policy because EU governments decided on June 8th, by majority voting and against the two countries’ objections, to adopt the new migration rules.
But it is a signal that, despite being outvoted, neither country will give up the fight and it could spell trouble for other projects that require unanimity, such as the ongoing revision of the EU’s budget which could be taken hostage.
Under the June deal each EU country will be responsible for a set number of migrants but will not necessarily have to take them in. Those unwilling to receive their quota could choose instead to help countries which do take them with 20,000 euros per refused migrant, with equipment or with personnel.
Poland argues that the new system forces countries either to accept migrants or to pay. “Poland cannot agree to an obligatory character of relocation,” Morawiecki said.
EU diplomats said Poland’s stance was motivated by elections in October, as polls suggest the ruling nationalist PiS party may lose power. In 2015, during the biggest wave of migration to Europe, PiS used migration concerns to win an election.
Hungary is also opposed to accepting migrants and has used the issue to rally voters. “We are fighting against this decision and have no intention of implementing it,” a top government aide quoted Orban as saying on Twitter.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Gareth Jones)
