Polish Sejm extends state of emergency
11:32
After a violent and emotional discussion, the Sejm (lower chamber of Polish Parliament) extended the state of emergency introduced a month ago along the Polish-Belarusian border. According to the constitution, the state of emergency may be extended only once and for no more than 60 days.
447 deputies voted, including "for" 237, "against" 179, abstained from voting 31, but as many as 13 didn’t vote. The restrictions in the border zone covering 183 towns were extended, of which 115 in Podlaskie Voivodeship and 68 in the Lublin voivodeship.
The day before (September 29), in fear of the possible unfavorable result of this vote for the PiS (Law and Justice), the deputies introduced changes to the rules of the Sejm.
Meanwhile, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson met in Warsaw with Minister of Internal Affairs Mariusz Kamiński to discuss the situation on the eastern border of Poland with Belarus. The conversation concerned, inter alia, allowing journalists to report on the situation at the border and the activities of Frontex.
"I raised the issue of the importance of the Polish authorities ensuring in a transparent manner that all laws, policies, and practices on the Polish-Belarus border are fully compliant with the EU legal order," the EU commissioner said.
Meanwhile, migrant lawyers, doctors, journalists, NGOs, politicians, church organizations, independent bodies such as the Ombudsman's Office, or representatives of international organizations are denied access to the border under the state of emergency, which has just been extended for another 60 days.
