Visa scandal at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There is a position of the European Commission
In recent days, there has been a lot of talk about the visa scandal at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the media, the deputy head of the ministry, Piotr Wawrzyk, was to be dismissed due to irregularities at the Visa Decisions Center. What does the European Commission have to say on this matter?
On Friday, TVN24 correspondent in Brussels Maciej Sokołowski asked European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper about possible violations in the Polish visa system. The journalist tried to find out whether the Commission is in contact with the Polish authorities and plans to take steps in this matter.
– We cannot comment on ongoing proceedings, but we know that they are being conducted. It is up to Poland to verify any irregularities in this regard, Hipper replied. She added that the EC is in constant contact with the Polish authorities and is asking about this matter.
When asked whether this is only an internal Polish matter, since a visa to Poland is in fact also a visa to the EU and the Schengen area, the Commission spokeswoman replied: “The Polish authorities have started proceedings, so we cannot draw conclusions yet. We will respect the results of the proceedings and continue “We will be in contact with the Polish authorities.”
“Visa scandal” at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Last Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk was dismissed in unclear circumstances. According to the findings of “Gazeta Wyborcza”, Wawrzyk was canceled due to a draft regulation that was supposed to facilitate the arrival of foreign workers to Poland. In the background, there may also be a scandal with the Visa Decision Center, for which his associate was responsible. On August 31, CBA agents probably entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Gazeta Wyborcza” reported that the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs could have brought hundreds of thousands of migrants to Europe, and Prime Minister Morawiecki admitted that the dismissal of Deputy Minister Piotr Wawrzyk is the result of an investigation by the services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “It is possible that this is a major corruption scandal that resulted in hundreds of thousands of immigrants arriving in Europe,” the daily wrote.
Position of the prosecutor’s office
The prosecutor’s office claims that “in fact, the subject of the investigation, conducted by the prosecutor’s office together with the CBA, are irregularities in submitting applications for several hundred visas over a year and a half. Less than half of these applications were accepted,” it was reported.
The statement indicated that “irregularities concerned Polish diplomatic missions in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Philippines and Qatar.” “Therefore, another false information provided by both politicians and “Gazeta Wyborcza” is the claim that those arriving came from African countries,” we read.
