Latest news with #TomaszSiemoniak
See - Sada Elbalad
21-07-2025
- Politics
- See - Sada Elbalad
Poland Spends $700 Mln to Fortify Border with Belarus
Israa Farhan Poland has invested about $700 million (2.6 billion zloty) to enhance security along its border with Belarus, Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak announced during a joint visit with German counterpart Alexander Dobrindt to the Pieszczatka-Polowce border crossing. The fortified border is now monitored by over 11,000 Polish border guards, as Warsaw continues its large-scale reinforcement efforts launched in December 2023. Existing border fences, originally built in 2022, have been upgraded with advanced surveillance infrastructure, including high-resolution cameras and motion sensors spanning the full length of the frontier. In addition, Poland's Ministry of defense deployed extra military personnel to the border in August 2024, responding to increasing regional tensions and migration pressures. The initiative underscores the Polish government's broader national security strategy under Prime Minister Donald Tusk, aimed at deterring illegal crossings and safeguarding the eastern flank of the European Union. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks
Euractiv
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
Series of fires across Poland, Russian sabotage suspected
Series of fires across Poland, Russian sabotage suspected WARSAW - A third major fire in less than a week broke out in Poland on Monday, prompting the authorities to suspect that the incidents may be linked to hybrid operations by Russian intelligence services. The latest fire broke out in a warehouse in Siemianowice Ślaskie in southern Poland. This follows a fire in a residential building in Ząbki, near Warsaw, on 1 July, and a fire in a production hall in Mińsk Mazowiecki, around 35 km from the capital, on Sunday. Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said on Monay that in light of Russia's hybrid tactics, the government is treating all major fires with increased scrutiny. "Since January 2024, we have seen several attempted acts of sabotage. Every significant incident, fire, or attempted arson is being assessed as a potential act of sabotage," he said during a press conference. The suspicion of Russian involvement intensified after a massive shopping center in Marywilska, Warsaw, burned down in May. The government later said it had evidence linking Russian intelligence to the incident. In response, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski ordered the closure of Russia's consulate in Kraków. Moscow responded with a 'mirror reaction' last week, ordering the closure of the Polish consulate in Kaliningrad. Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed the mission will cease operations at the end of August. (cs) (Aleksandra Krzysztoszek |
eNCA
07-07-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Poland starts border checks with Germany in anti-migrant clampdown
Poland reimposed checks on its borders with EU neighbours Germany and Lithuania on Monday in a bid to crack down on irregular migration amid surging anti-immigrant sentiment creating political pressure in Berlin and Warsaw. Border guards and military police could be seen looking into passing cars and occasionally stopping vehicles for document checks on the bridge connecting the Polish town of Slubice with Frankfurt an der Oder in Germany. The new checks are a response to growing anti-migrant sentiment on both sides of the border. Poland says hundreds of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, cross into the Baltic states from Belarus every month, then travel through Poland into Germany. The issue has become a particularly sensitive one in Polish domestic politics and has led to tensions with Germany. AFP | Wojtek RADWANSKI Warsaw has accused Berlin of sending the irregular migrants it manages to intercept back into Poland. "The checks being implemented aim to combat illegal migration," Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak was quoted as saying by his ministry on X. Shortly after the new checks came into force on Monday, Polish border guards detained a man for assisting irregular migration. The Estonian national is accused of transporting four irregular migrants, believed to be from Afghanistan. Siemoniak said the detention was "proof that these checks are necessary". - 'Ping-pong game' - Germany, which introduced checks on the border with Poland in 2023, has welcomed the Polish initiative and called for collaboration against a common problem. Speaking to the daily Rheinische Post, the head of German police union GdP, Andreas Rosskopf, said the two countries needed a "workable procedure". He warned against Polish and German border guards engaging in a "ping-pong game" with asylum seekers by sending them back and forth. AFP | Wojtek RADWANSKI Representatives of German business associations have also voiced concern. "We are receiving worrying feedback from the business community," Helena Melnikov, chief executive of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), told the Handelsblatt newspaper. "If commuters can no longer get to work reliably and on time at the German-Polish border, there is an increased risk that they will look for work elsewhere on a permanent basis –- with consequences for the shortage of skilled workers in border regions," she said. Marek Klodnicki, an administrative employee who lives in Slubice but works in Germany, said the re-introduction of border controls was "very sad". "We have waited so long for open borders," he said, adding that the checks would result in "a disruption in social and economic life". Business owners, particularly hairdressers and tobacco shops, which get a lot of custom from Germans crossing the border, also voiced concern the checks could disrupt business. "Ninety percent of our customers are Germans. We may have less traffic, less revenue," Kinga Dziuba, a 29-year-old cigarette vendor, told AFP. But Dziuba said the checks were "very much needed" to control migration, adding: "Security is more important to me than trade". The issue of migration was central to June's presidential election in Poland, where nationalist Karol Nawrocki -- who ran on a slogan of "Poland first, Poles first" -- narrowly defeated the candidate backed by pro-European Union Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The Tusk government is now seeking to outflank its rivals by taking a tougher approach to immigration. - Checks 'unnecessary' - In total, 52 checkpoints have been set up on the border with Germany and 13 with Lithuania, Siemoniak said. The controls will last from July 7 to August 5 but could be extended. They will mostly consist of spot inspections, particularly of vehicles carrying several people, officials said. AFP | Damien SIMONART In June, members of a far-right movement gathered at several points along the border to set up "citizens' patrols", which the government insists are illegal. In Slubice, Edyta Taryma, a 54-year-old hair salon owner, said her revenues had already dropped by 20 percent after Germany re-imposed border controls. "A great many people did not come, or came less often, because they were afraid of traffic jams," she said. She called the checks "unnecessary". By Stanislaw Naklicki
DW
07-07-2025
- Politics
- DW
Poland starts spot checks at German border – DW – 07/07/2025
Random checks will be carried out along Poland's borders with Germany and Lithuania and come after the German government ordered a similar approach for entry into Germany. Authorities in Poland on Monday began carrying out random checks at 52 border crossings at the country's border with Germany in a move contrary to the spirit of the European Union's visa-free Schengen zone. The comes afterstricter German controls at the Germany-Poland border, which have been stepped up under Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government after they were reintroduced in November 2023. The Polish border checks, which also apply to Poland's border with Lithuania, are set to run initially until August 5. Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said Sunday the controls were meant only to combat "illegal immigration" and that Polish and other EU nationals would not face hindrances. The controls will reportedly focus on buses, minibuses, cars carrying large numbers of passengers and vehicles with tinted windows. Before Poland's announcement, the German government said it would begin turning back asylum-seekers at the Polish border, leading to claims by Polish nationalist and far-right politicians that Berlin is overwhelming Poland with migrants. Since May 8, German officials have refused entry to around 1,300 people on the border to Poland, according to the German Interior Ministry, with one in 10 cases involving an asylum request. EU rules on the Schengen area stipulated that countries are allowed to introduce temporary measures as a "last resort" and "in exceptional situations." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
France 24
07-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Poland starts border checks with Germany in anti-migrant clampdown
Border guards and military police could be seen looking into passing cars and occasionally stopping vehicles for document checks on the bridge connecting the Polish town of Slubice with Frankfurt an der Oder in Germany. The new checks are a response to growing anti-migrant sentiment on both sides of the border. Poland says hundreds of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, cross into the Baltic states from Belarus every month, then travel through Poland into Germany. The issue has become a particularly sensitive one in Polish domestic politics and has led to tensions with Germany. Warsaw has accused Berlin of sending the irregular migrants it manages to intercept back into Poland. "The checks being implemented aim to combat illegal migration," Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak was quoted as saying by his ministry on X. Shortly after the new checks came into force on Monday, Polish border guards detained a man for assisting irregular migration. The Estonian national is accused of transporting four irregular migrants, believed to be from Afghanistan. Siemoniak said the detention was "proof that these checks are necessary". 'Ping-pong game' Germany, which introduced checks on the border with Poland in 2023, has welcomed the Polish initiative and called for collaboration against a common problem. Speaking to the daily Rheinische Post, the head of German police union GdP, Andreas Rosskopf, said the two countries needed a "workable procedure". He warned against Polish and German border guards engaging in a "ping-pong game" with asylum seekers by sending them back and forth. Representatives of German business associations have also voiced concern. "We are receiving worrying feedback from the business community," Helena Melnikov, chief executive of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), told the Handelsblatt newspaper. "If commuters can no longer get to work reliably and on time at the German-Polish border, there is an increased risk that they will look for work elsewhere on a permanent basis –- with consequences for the shortage of skilled workers in border regions," she said. Marek Klodnicki, an administrative employee who lives in Slubice but works in Germany, said the re-introduction of border controls was "very sad". "We have waited so long for open borders," he said, adding that the checks would result in "a disruption in social and economic life". Business owners, particularly hairdressers and tobacco shops, which get a lot of custom from Germans crossing the border, also voiced concern the checks could disrupt business. "Ninety percent of our customers are Germans. We may have less traffic, less revenue," Kinga Dziuba, a 29-year-old cigarette vendor, told AFP. But Dziuba said the checks were "very much needed" to control migration, adding: "Security is more important to me than trade". The issue of migration was central to June's presidential election in Poland, where nationalist Karol Nawrocki -- who ran on a slogan of "Poland first, Poles first" -- narrowly defeated the candidate backed by pro-European Union Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The Tusk government is now seeking to outflank its rivals by taking a tougher approach to immigration. Checks 'unnecessary' In total, 52 checkpoints have been set up on the border with Germany and 13 with Lithuania, Siemoniak said. The controls will last from July 7 to August 5 but could be extended. They will mostly consist of spot inspections, particularly of vehicles carrying several people, officials said. In June, members of a far-right movement gathered at several points along the border to set up "citizens' patrols", which the government insists are illegal. In Slubice, Edyta Taryma, a 54-year-old hair salon owner, said her revenues had already dropped by 20 percent after Germany re-imposed border controls. "A great many people did not come, or came less often, because they were afraid of traffic jams," she said. She called the checks "unnecessary".
