POLAND: Exception from Migrant Relocation Rules & more – 11th Dec 2025

Witam from BA! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from the 11th of December twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.

Let’s kick off with foreign affairs. On Monday, the 8th, the EU agreed to exempt Poland from the automatic migrant relocation rules that would have required it to take in refugees arriving in Europe from Syria, Afghanistan, and other conflict zones.

EU rules normally expect member states to relocate thousands of migrants each year, 21,000 for twenty twenty-six, but Poland secured a full exemption.

Marcin Kierwiński, the Interior Minister, said the EU recognized Poland’s special situation as a major host of Ukrainian refugees and its ongoing support efforts.

The new rules will last a year, with a review set for twenty twenty-seven, and Poland also won’t have any financial obligations tied to relocating migrants.

Speaking of the EU, on Thursday, the 4th, six EU leaders, including Donald Tusk, Poland’s Prime Minister, wrote a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission chief, asking the EU to rethink car carbon dioxide emission rules that push for electric and low-emission vehicles and aim to phase out traditional engines by twenty thirty-five.

They said the strict climate rules are hurting Europe’s car industry without doing much for global emissions and asked for a tech-neutral approach, keeping hybrids, fuel-cell cars, low-emission fuels, and biofuels as options even after twenty thirty-five.

They also want CO2 rules for trucks updated so manufacturers can meet targets and avoid fines.

The leaders stressed that the EU should focus on supporting the car sector as it is at a turning point and needs to stay competitive while going green.

Next up, on Tuesday, the 9th, Andrzej Szeptycki, Poland’s Deputy Science Minister, said the country supports using EU research funds from Horizon Europe, the EU’s main research and innovation program, to develop technologies for both civilian and military use.

He added that because of Russia's war in Ukraine and rising regional tensions, the EU will start funding projects in areas like cybersecurity, AI, and drones, seeing them as more urgent than before. Poland supports this approach but also wants the EU to focus on research into international conflicts and peaceful solutions.

The country also hopes Horizon Europe will strengthen collaboration between research and business, especially small and medium-sized companies, and provide more opportunities for young researchers.

EU money keeps entering Poland, as on Monday, the 8th, the EU gave the country about eighty-eight  million dollars from the Solidarity Fund to help Poland recover from the severe floods that hit parts of Central and Eastern Europe in the fall of twenty twenty-four.

The European Parliament and the Council of the EU approved the funding, which Poland will use to repair and rebuild key infrastructure like roads, bridges, and water systems.

The Solidarity Fund also covers emergency response and repair costs retroactively, starting from the first day of the floods.

Switching gears to internal affairs. On Friday, the 5th, PM Tusk spoke at the Civic Coalition’s National Council, condemning politicians from the Law and Justice opposition party, including President Nawrocki, former president Andrzej Duda, and ex-PM Mateusz Morawiecki, for attending political events funded by a Russian crypto company.

He criticized the party for showing up at events run by risky Russian crypto companies that often mislead small investors, saying this ignores countries’ efforts to keep those investors safe. Tusk added that anyone misusing their power for personal gain won’t escape punishment.

The Civic Coalition also discussed internal elections during the meeting, with polls for local and regional leaders set for between the 17th of January and the 20th of February, and the party leadership vote will take place on the 8th of March.

On Monday, the 8th, major Polish company KGHM International LTD signed a partnership deal with the Sagamok Anishnawbek Indigenous Group, an Indigenous First Nations community in Canada, to cooperate on the Victoria mine in Canada.

The deal lays out how they’ll handle jobs, training, business projects, knowledge sharing, and environmental protection, making sure both sides benefit.

The agreement locks in cooperation for the mine’s planned fourteen-year lifespan and gives the Sagamok community opportunities to grow and profit from the mine.

This is a rare deal as major Polish mining companies do not usually partner with indigenous communities.

Going back to foreign affairs for a minute. On Wednesday, the 10th, Frontex, the EU’s border agency, announced it had called off a charter flight from Radom, located in central Poland, to Frankfurt, Germany, that was supposed to send a group of Pakistani citizens back to Islamabad.

The decision came after the Institute for the Rule of Law, a Polish NGO that helps people with legal issues, warned that the operation could violate rules by sending people to a place where they might be in danger, as Polish authorities had not properly assessed the risks or accepted their asylum requests.

This is the first time Frontex has put a stop to a deportation in Poland, even with the country’s tougher asylum rules. So far this year, Poland has been involved in eight return operations with Frontex, three of them sending Pakistanis home.

Now, Frontex plans to take a closer look at these concerns before getting involved in any future deportations.

On Monday, the 8th, Ukraine opened a new vice‑consulate in Rzeszów, in the southeast, its sixth one in Poland.

The consulate will help the growing number of Ukrainians in the area with matters such as visas, passports, and other official paperwork. It will also assist Poles who need visas to visit Ukraine.

Andrij Sybiga, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, joined the opening ceremony and praised the city for supporting Ukrainians.

On the following day, veterinary and local officials confirmed that African Swine Fever hit five areas in Piotrków County, in central Poland.

Four dead boars tested positive, and officials are searching for more while planning to cull infected animals to stop the virus from spreading. They also asked farmers to keep their pig farms secure.

The virus affects only wild boars and pigs, causing high fever, loss of appetite, internal bleeding, vomiting, and often sudden death.

If it reaches a farm, it can wipe out entire herds, sometimes up to 10,000 pigs. So far in twenty twenty-five, the region reported 149 outbreaks.

Officials continue to hunt and cull wild boars and work with the EU on protective zones.

In a positive update, on Monday, the 8th, scouts from the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association in Zakopane, in the south, received the Bethlehem Peace Light from Slovak scouts and kicked off a national tour to spread acts of kindness.

They also handed the Light to President Nawrocki and the First Lady and will take it to schools, churches, institutions, and homes across Poland.

The scouts carry the Light, a global symbol from Bethlehem, across the world to share hope, peace, and goodwill. The relay inspires people to act with community spirit, responsibility, and everyday kindness.

In unrelated news, on Wednesday the 10th, KidsAlert, a Polish app that helps parents keep kids safe online, said that more teenagers on TikTok are posting resignation-themed content, like short goodbye notes, which could hint at suicidal thoughts.

KidsAlert warned that TikTok’s algorithm might accidentally push teenagers toward these posts and advised parents to monitor their children’s online activity, watch for mood changes, and respond with care.

KidsAlert also reminded users about the app’s Help Map, where they can find crisis support and mental health resources.

Also on Wednesday, the 10th, Kasia Bielecka, a PhD student at the University of Warsaw, wrote an essay for Political Critique, a progressive magazine covering politics, culture, and social issues, about how the government basically sabotaged its own labor-inspection reform.

She explained that the original idea of letting inspectors instantly switch fake civil-law contracts into proper work contracts without going to court could’ve finally stopped the abuse of fake contracts.

However, business groups and some politicians freaked out because the plan would have forced employers to pay back social contributions and lose control over contracts.

In the end, the government cut out the most powerful parts of the reform, leaving the labor inspectorate too weak and underfunded to get the job done.

You can read the piece in Polish with the link in the show notes.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Do zobaczenia!