Tusk: Poland will not implement EU migration pact

Tusk said at a press conference with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Gdansk that his country had taken in around two million refugees from Ukraine and was defending itself on its eastern border against an influx of migrants directed by Belarus.

"I am pleased that my argument has been met with an open ear and understanding that Poland cannot fulfill a migration pact that would mean an additional quota of migrants for Poland," said the Prime Minister. The EU Commissioners and the Polish cabinet met together in Tusk's home town on the Baltic Sea at the start of Poland's EU Council Presidency.

Von der Leyen: Migrants are being used as weapons

From the outset, Poland has claimed an exemption from the 2024 EU pact and does not agree to the redistribution mechanism for migrants. Von der Leyen expressed understanding for what she called "a very special situation" on Poland's eastern border. Migrants were being used as weapons there and Poland was being put under pressure.

"This is not a question of migration, but a question of national security," she said. This is seen as a hybrid threat from Russia and Belarus. She also emphasized that Poland had taken in the most Ukrainian refugees in the past three years.

Tusk: EU citizens want security

Tusk placed Poland's EU Council Presidency in the first six months of 2025 under the key concept of security. These are uncertain times, he said. "And the people of Europe, the people of Poland, want to know that the EU is there to make them feel safe, that security is not an abstraction." All measures must be subordinated to this priority.

"Europe needs a boost in defense," von der Leyen also said. She announced that the EU Commission would publish a strategy paper on building up defense capabilities in mid-March.

The Polish presidency comes at a time when the first diplomatic initiatives are taking shape to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Poland is Ukraine's neighbor and an important European advocate. It is planning to advance the EU accession talks with Kiev.