Following a cabinet meeting on 10 November, the Polish government has tabled draft amendments to the Criminal Code that dramatically stiffen penalties for organising illegal border crossings and for violent attacks on law-enforcement officers. Details released on 11 November show three new aggravated smuggling offences: organising crossings for profit (1–10 years in prison), endangering multiple people (2–12 years) and involvement in deaths (3–20 years). The reform—labelled project UD425—also raises the minimum fine for petty illegal-entry offences from PLN 20 to PLN 500 and clarifies that driving a vehicle at a police or Border Guard officer qualifies as aggravated assault. Government spokesman Adam Szłapka said the measures respond to increasingly sophisticated smuggling networks operating on the Belarus and Ukraine corridors and to a spike in vehicle attacks on patrols. Legal experts have questioned whether the upper-range sentences are proportionate, while human-rights groups welcomed the removal of a previously floated clause that could have criminalised humanitarian aid to irregular migrants. The draft must still pass both chambers of parliament, but with the ruling coalition holding a comfortable majority, adoption by early 2027 is considered likely. For global-mobility managers the change signals a tougher enforcement climate: drivers, forwarders and tour operators caught facilitating irregular entry could face lengthy jail terms. Companies should tighten vetting of subcontracted transport providers and ensure employee conduct guidelines explicitly forbid assisting unauthorised journeys across Polish borders.
Source: Poland-24.com
