EC wants Poland to resettle over 3600 African and Syrian refugees

The European Commission announced on Wednesday a program of mandatory redistribution of around 40,000 African and 20,000 Syrian asylum seekers in the European Union member countries. Under the plan Poland would resettle 2,659 African migrants (app. 6.56 percent of the total number) trying to cross Mediterranean Sea and 962 Syrian refugees.

The idea is stirring controversy in Europe, as France and UK joined hands in opposing the plan to impose quotas on member states for accepting migrants. Poland is also reluctant to agree on mandatory migrant quotas. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Rafał Trzaskowski said that "there will be no consent for the time being, the issue will be raised at the EU summit. The problem needs to be approached rationally, not in the way the EC is proposing."

The size of a country's GDP and the population size, unemployment rate and the number of already resettled refugees in the last five years, will be take into account when redistributing the refugees, the EC informed.

Meanwhile, President of the European Council Donald Tusk told Polish daily Polska the Times that Poland should display solidarity with Mediterranean countries: "When we define the limits and criteria for granting asylum and determine the number of refugees, then every country should show solidarity and resettle them. If we expect solidarity over the Eastern matter, we should also display solidarity with the South."

 The EC's plan will be put to the vote in the EU Council.