Sharp reactions in Germany, findings of the Spanish press agency. Foreign media about the visa scandal

Poland is Europe’s pit bull – mocks a Canadian newspaper in a comment on the visa scandal. And that’s the end of the journalists’ jokes, because selling Schengen visas is a very serious matter. They could have been obtained by potential terrorists. Even if the Polish government claims that there is no scandal, the Spanish provide another example.

READ MORE: Visa scandal. What do we know so far?

After arriving in New York, Zbigniew Rau referred to the visa scandal for the first time, stating that there was no visa scandal. – I do not agree with your term “visa scandal”. There was no scandal, there is no scandal – said the minister in response to journalists’ questions.

However, foreign journalists think differently and, unlike the Polish minister, they call our country’s practice of issuing visas in exchange for bribes not only a scandal, but also a “scandal of unimaginable proportions” that is shocking not only the Polish government, but also the entire Schengen area.

The German “Bild” – without mincing words – talks about “Poland’s hypocrisy”. “The Polish government in the election campaign! Only three topics have been discussed for months: 1. Corruption! 2. Fear of refugees! 3. Germany is to blame for everything (in a pact with the opposition leader Donald Tusk)! Now this lousy campaign is eating its own tail!” – you can read.

In a short but blunt commentary, “Bild” journalists suggest that Law and Justice has always accused Germany of “stupidity and naivety” because the government in Berlin does not sufficiently control the influx of refugees. “Now it has come to light: the ‘flood’ of migrants has been intensified by corrupt Warsaw officials. Illegal refugees with purchased Polish documents are deliberately allowed to enter Germany,” says “Bild”.

“Süddeutsche Zeitung” reminds that the PiS government has been running a campaign against migrants from the Middle East and Africa for years, and thanks to this strategy it won the elections in 2015. And now, 8 years later, shocking reports are circulating around the world that officials associated with the ruling camp may have let hundreds of thousands of migrants into Poland. “In May, the Uganda Watchdog website reported cases in which Kenyan residents lost several thousand dollars trying to obtain a Polish work visa. There are plenty of Kenyan websites dealing with Polish Schengen visas on the Internet,” reports “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.

READ MORE: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the data. This is how many visas Poland has issued to foreigners

The Canadian newspaper “Le Journal de Montréal”, citing the French press agency, suggests that the ruling party in Poland is doing everything to downplay and silence the problem. “Populist nationalists in power are trying to downplay the issue at all costs. According to them, it only concerns ‘several hundred visas’,” writes “Le Journal de Montréal.”

More foreign media reach out to specific cases of trade in Schengen visas by the Polish authorities. “The Spanish press agency learned about a case in which in 2022 a person who did not meet the requirements to obtain a visa for the Schengen area received such a document at the Polish embassy located in a Middle Eastern country, in exchange for a payment of the equivalent of EUR 5,000 – reports the newspaper “La Vanguardia” on its website. website.

BBC journalists directly assess that the revealed scandal may affect the ruling party’s result in the upcoming elections, and French public radio reminds that PiS is not limited to threatening migration during the campaign, but also wants to raise this issue during the referendum scheduled on election day. “This is another problem for PiS. It is organizing a referendum on the rejection of the migration pact proposed by the European Union. This position will be more difficult for them to maintain, as the party could help some migrants obtain Schengen visas in exchange for money,” reports Radio France Internationale.

The local Canadian newspaper “Le Soleil”, in an article titled “Poland, Europe’s pitbull”, also draws attention to the way in which politicians from the ruling camp want to ask referendum questions about migration. “It is worth paying attention to the wording of these questions. One of them is ‘Do you support accepting thousands of illegal immigrants?’ Who would dare to answer ‘Yes’ to such questions? Apart from the very, very ‘bad’ Poles?” – asks “Le Soleil”.

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Main photo source: Wojciech Olkuśnik / Agencja Wyborcza.pl