Almost two-thirds of Poles want the resumption of border controls within the European Union to combat illegal migration, according to the latest migration survey.
Such a move would effectively abolish the Schengen Agreement, which allows Europeans to cross most of the European Union without border controls.
In the SW Research poll, 62.2 per cent of respondents expressed the view that the EU should reinstate border controls between Schengen countries to control migration. Only 23 per cent of respondents opposed the move, while 14.8 per cent found it difficult to answer.
Women support the resumption of controls more often than men: 65% versus 59%. It is noteworthy that seven out of ten respondents from cities with a population of less than 20,000 and 69 per cent of respondents aged between 25 and 34 believe that restoring controls would help reduce the influx of migrants. On the contrary, among people with incomes between PLN 5,001 and PLN 7,000 net, the issue is more discontented, with 29 per cent of them opposing it.
The president of SW Research, said that the majority of respondents aged 25-34 and residents of small towns are inclined towards the idea of increased control at the borders. However, the economic factor also plays an important role in the perception of this issue, which emphasises the significant difference in opinions among different social groups.
The results of the survey showed that, despite the fact that the Polish government opposes the introduction of temporary border controls by neighbouring Germany, Polish voters are receptive to the idea.
Migration crisis across EU
This was in light of the migration crisis sweeping across the EU and also shows that Polish citizens do not always agree with their government on Schengen protection.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk last year called Germany’s decision to introduce checks at all its borders “unacceptable” and vowed to unite other EU member states against it.
He argued that the EU should focus on protecting its external borders, including Poland’s border with Belarus, where tens of thousands of illegal migrant crossings have been attempted since 2021.
His stance reflected concerns about how border controls could affect Poland’s trade with Western Europe, and came amid reports from border regions of problems at crossings with Germany.
A recent discussion of the issue in Germany has attracted attention across Europe. The leader of the opposition CDU party, Friedrich Merz, put forward a proposal to reinstate border controls on a permanent basis, citing the growing number of illegal migrants. The proposal was supported by the Alternative for Germany party, but the bill was not passed. Nevertheless, Germany has decided to resume temporary controls on land borders in autumn 2024.
Germany, like Poland, is part of the Schengen area, a region where border checks have been abolished, allowing free movement in an area covering almost 4.4 million square kilometres.
