BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥 Poland must clarify allegations that its consulates in Africa and Asia sold temporary work visas to migrants for thousands of dollars each in a scheme that could undermine free travel in Europe, a senior European Union official said Tuesday.
European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said that travel within the 27-nation ID-check free travel zone known as the Schengen area relies on trust between the members, which include most EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
鈥淲hat happens in a Schengen state affects the functioning of all Schengen countries. That is why the alleged cases of fraud and corruption in the Polish visa system are extremely worrying,鈥 Schinas told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France.
鈥淚f third-country nationals have been allowed the right of free movement within Schengen, without respecting the appropriate conditions and procedures, this would amount to a violation of EU law, in particular the EU visa code,鈥 he said.
Schinas鈥檚 remarks come just as Poland鈥檚 right-wing ruling party campaigns for Oct. 15 elections. Migration is a hot election topic and the governing Law and Justice is about the alleged scheme just as it seeks a third term in office.
Polish authorities, including the ruling party leader, insist there is no scandal. They say that seven people have been arrested in the ongoing investigation and that there were fewer than 300 cases of irregularities.
But Poland鈥檚 main opposition leader, Donald Tusk, has accused Law and Justice of hypocrisy for allegedly admitting large numbers of foreign workers despite its anti-migrant rhetoric and a new border wall.
Tusk 鈥 a former prime minister and once a top EU official himself 鈥 and Polish media allege that the government admitted about 130,000 Muslim migrants last year through the supposed scheme despite heated statements aimed chiefly at non-Christians.
Poland鈥檚 Interior Ministry said that 鈥渓ess than 30,000 workers from Muslim countries came last year.鈥
The European Commission is the EU鈥檚 executive branch, and it polices the application of the bloc鈥檚 laws. Schinas said the commission is seeking answers to several questions.
鈥淲e want to have clarity, for instance on the numbers and types of visas and consular posts affected, as well as the whereabouts of the visa holders,鈥 he said.
鈥淲e also want clarity on the structural measures that the Polish authorities are taking to ensure that the system is protected against any possible fraud and corrupt behavior,鈥 Schinas said. He added: 鈥淲e need full clarity to reinstate trust.鈥
According to the EU statistics agency Eurostat, Poland issued some 700,000 鈥渇irst residence鈥 permits last year to citizens of 148 non-EU countries, making it the bloc鈥檚 top issuer of permits. The recipients were meant to stay in Poland, but ID-check free travel makes it easy to move around.
Migration is also a hot topic more broadly after major European political groups met last week to prepare their campaign strategies for EU-wide elections next June.
Schinas and commission President Ursula von der Leyen are part of the conservative European People鈥檚 Party, the biggest bloc in the EU parliament. They want to woo the party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni into the fold and have taken a tougher line on migrants recently.
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Associated Press writer Monika Scislowska in Warsaw contributed to this report.
