The European Commission will not commit to launching legal action against Poland after Donald Tusk openly threatened to disregard the Migration Pact.
The European Commission is scrambling to defend the Pact on Migration and Asylum after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk doubled down on his refusal to implement the legislation, casting doubt over its practical viability.
Notably, the Commission refrained from committing to launching legal action against Poland or any other member state that bypasses the five interlinked laws under the Pact.
The response stands in stark contrast with previous remarks from high-level officials.
Last year, Ylva Johansson, the former European Commissioner for Home Affairs, who took part in the Pact’s hard-fought negotiations, said the executive would “of course act and use – if necessary – infringement (procedures)” against non-compliant countries.
Her successor, Magnus Brunner, made a similar commitment during his confirmation hearing before the European Parliament. “If it’s necessary and justified, then infringement proceedings could be brought,” he told lawmakers.
But on Monday, the Commission, which is tasked with guaranteeing the correct application of EU law, fell short of repeating that pledge.
“What we’re not going to do is step into some kind of speculation about what would happen if this or that happens. We’re not in the habit of answering speculative questions,” a Commission spokesperson said.
Asked by Euronews if the Commission was still of the opinion the Pact was “binding” for all 27 member states, as it had said in the past, the spokesperson trod with caution.
“The Pact will enter into application in mid-2026. Work is ongoing. The Commission is in close contact with all member states and supports, where necessary, to ensure that all member states are ready by then,” the spokesperson said.
The official did not use the word “binding” to describe the legislation.
Tusk says no, ‘full stop’
Friday was not the first time that Donald Tusk had threatened to breach the Migration Pact but it was the first time he did so in the presence of its main advocate: Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
“Poland will not implement the Migration Pact in a way that would introduce additional quotas of immigrants in Poland,” Tusk said in a joint press conference.
Approved in May last year, the Pact establishes a complex set of rules to collectively manage the irregular arrival of asylum seekers. It will apply from 2026 onwards.
Its central pillar is a novel mechanism of “mandatory solidarity” that will give governments three different options: relocate a certain number of asylum seekers, pay a financial contribution or provide operational support, like personnel and equipment. The relocations need to reach 30,000 per year and the financial contributions, €600 million.
From the start to the end of the negotiations, Poland and Hungary vigorously opposed the Pact, as a whole, and the solidarity mechanism, in particular, with misleading claims it would force them to take in migrants against their will.
ADVERTISEMENT“This is not an ideological debate. Poland is in a very particular situation. We’re under huge pressure from illegal migration,” Tusk said on Friday. “If somebody says that Poland is expected to shoulder an additional burden, irrespective of who says that, my response is Poland will not accept an additional burden. Full stop.”
The premier invoked two factors to defend his refusal to comply: the large number of Ukrainian refugees hosted by Poland, which he estimated at two million, and the migration flows that Belarus and Russia have instrumentalised at the Eastern border.
Standing by his side, Ursula von der Leyen, who previously hailed the Pact as a “historic” achievement to ensure burden-sharing across the bloc, promised the Commission would “take into account” and “respect” Warsaw’s solidarity shown towards Ukrainians.
On Monday, the Commission sought to clarify, stressing member states will have “full discretion” to choose among three solidarity measures but will never be “obliged” to relocate asylum seekers if they do not want to.
ADVERTISEMENT“The Pact considers the specific migratory situation of each member state and provides the necessary flexibility to address their needs. This is the case, for instance, for providing solidarity to members under pressure. And this could include Poland because of the large number of Ukrainian refugees in Poland,” the spokesperson said.
Under the Pact, countries considered to be under “migratory pressure” will benefit from solidarity measures. For example, they could have some asylum seekers relocated to another member state or receive financial support and equipment. Moreover, they could benefit from a partial or total exemption from the system, meaning they will not be asked to relocate migrants within their territory or chip into the common fund.
The exemptions will be announced in October after the Commission publishes its annual report assessing the level of migratory pressure.
With his forceful remarks, Tusk seems to be pre-empting the Commission’s process to ensure Poland secures a complete exemption.
ADVERTISEMENTHowever, it is not clear if a country that refuses to implement the Pact could benefit from the solidarity measures offered by other countries that do implement the Pact.
Poland had previously demanded a carve-out from another element of the Pact: the border procedures to register applicants for international protection
