WARSAW: The European Union should deal with a surge in migrants by sealing its borders and rejecting any idea of relocating them within the bloc, Poland’s ruling party said on Tuesday as it takes a tough stance on migration before an election.
The ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, facing a challenge from a far-right party, said that Poland risks being overwhelmed by migrants like the Italian island of Lampedusa, where migrant boats often land after crossing the Mediterranean from the coast of North Africa, if they are not returned to power in elections on Oct. 15.
PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski told a news conference, “Lampedusa is only a kind of symbol of a situation that threatens the whole of Europe, including Poland.”
“The only way to fight this kind of — it must be called this — invasion — is to actually, realistically seal the borders and make decisions to return those who crossed the borders to their home countries, or some other solution, but always related to getting rid of them.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday visited the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is struggling with a surge in migrant arrivals, and promised a 10-point EU action plan to help Italy deal with the situation.
Kaczynski said that any announcement of the relocation of illegal migrants is an “encouragement to traffic people.”
His comments come as the government faces opposition accusations that it was complicit in a system in which migrants received visas at an accelerated pace without proper checks after paying intermediaries.
They also come amidst a growing weariness with refugees from neighboring Ukraine among some Poles who feel the government has gone too far in extending social benefits and other aid to those fleeing the war as well as anger among farmers who say Ukrainian grain imports hurt their prices.
Poland last week banned Ukrainian grain imports.
Poland is some 1 million Ukrainian refugees. While Poles’ overall attitudes to them remain positive and support for Kyiv’s war effort is almost unanimous, research shows that critical views are becoming more widespread.
EU must close borders in face of ‘migrant surge’, says Poland’s ruling PiS party
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EU must close borders in face of ‘migrant surge’, says Poland’s ruling PiS party
- The ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, facing a challenge from a far-right party, said that Poland risks being overwhelmed by migrants
- PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski told a news conference, “Lampedusa is only a kind of symbol of a situation that threatens the whole of Europe, including Poland”
‘Doomsday Clock’ moves closer to midnight over threats from nukes, climate change, AI
- At the end of the Cold War, the clock was as close as 17 minutes to midnight. In the past few years, to address rapid global changes, the group has changed from counting down the minutes until midnight to counting down the seconds
WASHINGTON: Earth is closer than it’s ever been to destruction as Russia, China, the US and other countries become “increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic,” a science-oriented advocacy group said Tuesday as it advanced its “Doomsday Clock” to 85 seconds till midnight.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist members had an initial demonstration on Friday and then announced their results on Tuesday.
The scientists cited risks of nuclear war, climate change, potential misuse of biotechnology and the increasing use of artificial intelligence without adequate controls as it made the annual announcement, which rates how close humanity is from ending.
Last year the clock advanced to 89 seconds to midnight.
Since then, “hard-won global understandings are collapsing, accelerating a winner-takes-all great power competition and undermining the international cooperation” needed to reduce existential risks, the group said.
They worry about the threat of escalating conflicts involving nuclear-armed countries, citing the Russia-Ukraine war, May’s conflict between India and Pakistan and whether Iran is capable of developing nuclear weapons after strikes last summer by the US and Israel.
International trust and cooperation is essential because, “if the world splinters into an us-versus-them, zero-sum approach, it increases the likelihood that we all lose,” said Daniel Holz, chair of the group’s science and security board.
The group also highlighted droughts, heat waves and floods linked to global warming, as well as the failure of nations to adopt meaningful agreements to fight global warming — singling out US President Donald Trump’s efforts to boost fossil fuels and hobble renewable energy production.
Starting in 1947, the advocacy group used a clock to symbolize the potential and even likelihood of people doing something to end humanity.
At the end of the Cold War, it was as close as 17 minutes to midnight. In the past few years, to address rapid global changes, the group has changed from counting down the minutes until midnight to counting down the seconds.
The group said the clock could be turned back if leaders and nations worked together to address existential risks.
