Dichotomy of Poland's actions towards immigrants at the external borders of the European Union from 2021

Abstract

Poland's eastern border, which is a part of the European Union's external borders, was subjected to an intensive influx of immigrants during an almost similar period. These phenomena were due to different reasons, with the common factor being people looking for a safe place to live. From mid-2021, the Polish-Belarusian border was subjected to an organised influx of migrants seeking to cross the border illegally. Afterwards after Russia's attack on Ukraine, the Polish-Ukrainian border encountered a massive influx of war refugees. The Polish government used two different tactics to manage the situation at each border in the face of migratory pressure. This article presents these differences and tries to explain their causes.