In the affair surrounding possibly hundreds of thousands of purchased work visas for the EU Schengen area, EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson is demanding clarification from Poland, according to the “Bild” newspaper. Johansson wrote a letter with eleven questions to Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau and set a deadline of October 3rd, the paper wrote without citing sources. The Commissioner pointed out to the politician from the ruling PiS party that the behavior of the Polish authorities could mean a violation of EU law and especially the EU visa code. She would like all necessary steps to clarify the matter to be taken without delay.
In the letter, the Commissioner asked, among other things, the number of visa holders who have now been expelled. Other questions include: “How many have gone into hiding?” and “How many have been registered with crimes in other EU countries?” She also wanted to know whether Poland was able to identify the cases of fraudulent visa issuance and what measures were taken “to protect the common Schengen system from fraud and bribery in the future”.
According to media reports in Poland, Polish officials are said to have sold several hundred thousand visas for the Schengen area to applicants from Asia.
In Poland, the process is causing a stir shortly before the parliamentary elections in mid-October. If the corruption allegations against Foreign Ministry officials are confirmed, this would be a setback for the ruling national-conservative PiS party, which stands for a tough stance on migration policy in the EU.
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