Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said “very many” immigrants come to Europe expecting a free ride, in an interview aired Sunday on a US political affairs programme.
The comment comes against a background of Warsaw’s accusations against Moscow that it has tried to smuggle thousands of people from Africa into Europe by flying them to Russia and sending them to the Polish border via Belarus.
“If someone comes over to Poland in the false perception that one will stay here and get everything for free and will have a better life without working, well, we do not agree to such arrivals,” said Duda.
He was speaking to conservative news host Sharyl Attkisson on Sinclair Television’s “Full Measure” programme.
Asked by Attkisson whether great numbers of people were coming to Europe expecting a free ride, Duda said “yes”.
“I think that in very many cases, we have such a situation. That’s why there is such a reaction in the West of Europe,” he added.
The interview was also available online on the programme’s website.
Since summer 2021, thousands of migrants and refugees, mainly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross the border between Belarus — an ally of Russia — and Poland, a NATO and EU member.
In May, Warsaw announced it would spend more than 2.3 billion euros ($2.5 billion) on fortifying its eastern border with Belarus that it said Russia has used to destabilise the region with hybrid attacks.
The following month, a Polish soldier on patrol at the border was fatally stabbed through a five-metre-high (16-foot) metal fence that Poland had erected in 2022.
The Polish army also reported other attacks on troops at the border.
In July, Polish lawmakers voted to allow the security forces to use lethal weapons in response to active threats, including at the tense border with Belarus.