WARSAW – The two renowned powers of Europe, Germany and Poland are formally exchanging barbs over a visa scandal that made headlines a few days ago.
The cash for visa scandal that dented the credibility of Poland’s immigration system is at the center of the row and German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has now threatened Poland with reinstating border controls, calling on the Polish authorities to investigate the matter expeditiously.
During a Social Democratic campaign event in Nuremberg, Chancellor Scholz said that he does not want Poland “just to wave through migrants”, raising tension between the two countries.
Scholz stressed that depending on the situation, the country might decide to take measures at its border, including the reinstatement of border controls, a move which could be the formal announcement of deteriorating ties with the country.
Depending on the situation, we may have to take additional measures at our borders, for instance at that one, the chancellor said.
The ruling party in Poland is under fire for allegations that one of the officials took bribes to issue a large number of visas to applicants from Asia and Africa and an anti-corruption body has launched a formal probe into the episode.
At the end of August, the country’s foreign ministry was searched by the local anti-corruption body and soon afterward, Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk was fired for not collaborating with the investigation.
Wawrzyk was shown the door for “lack of sufficient co-operation” with the investigation, but reportedly, he is suspected of helping to create the scheme and forcing consuls to issue visas to people of his choosing.
Besides Scholz, Germany’s Minister of Interior, Nancy Faeser, has also called on Poland to appear over this issue, calling on Poland to provide a prompt as well as a complete clarification of the allegations.
The data provided by the German police shows that over 12,000 undocumented migrants were taken into custody at the border with Poland in the first six months of 2023.
Besides Germany, the European Union has also pressed Poland to clarify allegations regarding the visa fraud scandal.
Despite the controversy, Poland has denied the allegations, responding angrily to queries for clarifications, especially to the one by Germany; the Minister of Interior of Poland, Mariusz Kamiński, branded the allegations as absurd.
More importantly, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau accused Germany of seeking to interfere in his country’s internal affairs; he was referring to the comments made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Rau accused Scholz of overstepping a boundary with his clarification request.
“The competence of the German Chancellor clearly does not concern the ongoing proceedings in Poland,” Foreign Minister Rau stated on the social media platform X.
“Statements in this regard indicate an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Polish State and the ongoing electoral campaign in Poland,” he said.
The matter relates to the allegations that as many as 350,000 migrants bought EU Schengen visas from Polish consulates through bribes and apparently tension would rise in Europe soon as the investigations continue.
