Poland accuses Germany of trying to interfere in its parliamentary elections

2023-09-25 12:37:30, Kosova & Bota CNA

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's call to Warsaw to clarify allegations about migrant visas is an attempt to interfere in Poland's election campaign, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said on Monday.

Immigration has become a major theme in the campaign of political parties ahead of the October 15 parliamentary elections in Poland.

The government has faced accusations from opposition parties this month that it is involved in illegally issuing Polish visas to immigrants at an accelerated pace, without proper checks, in exchange for bribes.

On Saturday, German Chancellor Scholz said that the issue needs to be clarified and hinted that Germany could take steps regarding controls on its border with Poland.

"The ongoing proceedings in Poland are not the competence of the German chancellor," Polish Foreign Minister Ru said on the X social network on Sunday evening.

"His statements on this matter are an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Polish state and in the current election campaign in Poland," he said.

Rau called on the German chancellor to "respect Poland's sovereignty and refrain from statements that harm bilateral relations".

Earlier, the Commissioner for Internal Affairs of the European Union, Ylva Johansson, asked for clarification on this issue and called on Poland to respond to accusations that no less than 350 thousand immigrants have bought Schengen visas at Polish consulates through intermediaries.

Schengen visas enable travel to EU countries.

In a letter sent to the EU Security Commissioner, the Government of Poland said that this issue is an "excessive media act" to discredit it before the elections./ REL