Despite the ban, work and business visas were massively issued to Russians in Poland: details of the scandal
A high-profile scandal broke out in Poland due to the illegal issuance of work and business visas to Russians, despite the current ban. About this informs Schengen News.
According to the report of the Higher Control and Audit Service of Poland, the previous government headed by Mateusz Morawiecki continued to issue visas to citizens of the Russian Federation under the Poland Business Harbor program and other regimes, despite the restrictions that will be in effect from March 1, 2022. During this period, 1,838 Polish Schengen visas were issued to Russians.
After the report was released, Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed the worst suspicions and noted that the government of the “Law and Justice” party accepted foreigners for bribes, while Polish soldiers protected the borders with Belarus. In his post on the X social network, Tusk sharply criticized the actions of the previous government, calling them a betrayal of the country’s interests.
Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that Warsaw supports Ukraine’s European integration, but has certain demands on Kyiv. At the same time, the Minister of Defense of Poland Władysław Kosyniak-Kamysh noted that Ukraine will not become a member of the EU until the “Volyn issue” is resolved.
Polish President Andrzej Duda publicly condemned such statements, stressing that blocking Ukraine’s European integration plays into the hands of Putin’s policy. He emphasized that such positions of individual politicians are unacceptable and contradict the national interests of Poland.
