Poland’s lower house of parliament (Sejm) voted during a late-night sitting on 12 November to prolong the extraordinary measure that blocks most people from filing an asylum request at official crossing points on the 418-kilometre frontier with Belarus. Under the resolution, the suspension—first introduced in March 2025 at the height of the border crisis blamed by Warsaw on Minsk—will now run from 17 November through 16 January 2027, marking the tenth consecutive extension. Government officials told deputies that hostile ‘instrumentalisation of migration’ by Belarusian and Russian services continues unabated. The Interior Ministry’s explanatory note cited nearly 500 thwarted crossings since the rules were imposed and detailed dozens of incidents in which armed or stone-throwing groups attacked Polish soldiers and Border Guard patrols. MPs approved the motion 425-17, with one abstention, reflecting rare cross-party agreement that the situation still poses a “real and present threat” to state security. The suspension empowers guards to refuse protection requests at the green border except for children travelling alone, pregnant women or other vulnerable individuals. Human-rights NGOs argue that the measure contravenes Article 56-2 of Poland’s constitution and the 1951 Refugee Convention; several challenges are pending before domestic courts and the EU Commission. For businesses moving staff through Eastern Europe, the decision means that irregular arrivals will likely continue to be channelled away from official checkpoints, sustaining tight security controls and occasional traffic delays on the S-19 and A-2 corridors. Companies should advise assignees to carry proof of legal status, allow extra time when transiting the Belarus border and monitor further parliamentary votes—extensions can be adopted with only 48 hours’ notice.
Source: Rzeczpospolita
