New EU migration pact finally approved. Poland and Hungary reject entire package

After long deliberations, the European Union finally approved the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. The pact is a thorough overhaul of the European migration policy.

The new deal is expected to address several key issues, including regulations for asylum procedures, asylum and migration management, Eurodac, screening, and crisis management.

The most ardent critics of the pact - Poland and Hungary - voted against the entire package.

Poland's Finance Minister Andrzej Domański said on Monday morning that Poland would firmly reject all elements of the pact negotiated by the previous government led by the PiS party.

In his view, the deal fails to address the specificity of the countries bordering Belarus and affected by hybrid warfare. "The migration pact provisions do not properly address the relationship between responsibility and solidarity," he added.

"The PiS government ruined everything there was to ruin in these negotiations and failed to fulfil its duty to look after Poland's interests. Therefore, the position of our government is clear - we are voting against all elements of the migration pact," Domański announced.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented on the newly approved migration and asylum rules. "The minister representing my government voted against the adoption of the migration pact. Poland's position has been clear from the start," he said.

Tusk underscored that his government has managed to push provisions that make the pact "much less dangerous".

"Secondly, we firmly demanded the migration pact be blocked. We were in the minority, but the Polish government voted against the migration pact."

Tusk stressed the migration pact adopted in its current form allows Poland to avoid any negative consequences. "Poland will not accept any migrants on this account. Poland has received hundreds of thousands of migrants as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war. We also have tens of thousands of migrants from Belarus." he added.

The Polish prime minister also said that Poland would be a beneficiary of the migration pact and would not let the EU impose any migrant quotas on it. Furthermore, Tusk said Poland would make sure it receives financial support from the EU for hosting tens of thousands of migrants, mostly from Ukraine.

"Unlike our predecessors, without warring against the EU, in a friendly yet firm dialogue, we will carry into effect everything that Poland is entitled to," he assured.