At the European Council meeting of October 23 2025, EU leaders signed off on a new set of conclusions that put migration and border management back at the centre of the Union’s political agenda. The document endorses work on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, urges faster returns of irregular migrants and calls on Member States to maintain “temporary and proportionate” internal border controls where necessary. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived in Brussels after weeks of domestic debate about extending Poland’s own checks on the frontiers with Germany and Lithuania.
Behind closed doors, diplomats say the Polish delegation supported tougher external-border action but reiterated Warsaw’s refusal to take part in any mandatory relocation of asylum-seekers, citing the country’s ongoing humanitarian effort for more than one million Ukrainian refugees. According to a senior Polish official, Prime Minister Tusk told fellow leaders that “solidarity cannot be reduced to quotas or invoices,” a reference to the €20,000 ‘solidarity payment’ foreseen in the Pact for countries that decline to accept relocated migrants.
The discussion was coloured by security concerns following Russia’s drone incursions over Polish territory in September and by rising pressure on the Belarus border. In the summit corridors, Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński briefed partners on Warsaw’s decision—taken earlier this month—to prolong border checks with Germany and Lithuania until April 2026. He argued that the controls are “catching the organisers of migrant-smuggling rings” and preventing a new land route to Western Europe.
Business groups with mobile staff welcomed the EU’s pledge to accelerate the long-delayed digitalisation of Schengen visa procedures but warned that a patchwork of internal checks is already undermining supply chains. Several Polish logistics companies told the Confederation Lewiatan they are budgeting for an extra 5–7 % in trucking costs over the Christmas peak as a direct result of extended inspections.
For global-mobility managers, the summit outcome signals that border frictions inside Schengen will persist well into 2026, while Poland will remain outside any future intra-EU relocation system. Employers moving staff into or across Poland should therefore continue to factor in additional time for land-border crossings and expect Warsaw to tighten rather than relax work-authorisation vetting in the coming year.
Behind closed doors, diplomats say the Polish delegation supported tougher external-border action but reiterated Warsaw’s refusal to take part in any mandatory relocation of asylum-seekers, citing the country’s ongoing humanitarian effort for more than one million Ukrainian refugees. According to a senior Polish official, Prime Minister Tusk told fellow leaders that “solidarity cannot be reduced to quotas or invoices,” a reference to the €20,000 ‘solidarity payment’ foreseen in the Pact for countries that decline to accept relocated migrants.
The discussion was coloured by security concerns following Russia’s drone incursions over Polish territory in September and by rising pressure on the Belarus border. In the summit corridors, Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński briefed partners on Warsaw’s decision—taken earlier this month—to prolong border checks with Germany and Lithuania until April 2026. He argued that the controls are “catching the organisers of migrant-smuggling rings” and preventing a new land route to Western Europe.
Business groups with mobile staff welcomed the EU’s pledge to accelerate the long-delayed digitalisation of Schengen visa procedures but warned that a patchwork of internal checks is already undermining supply chains. Several Polish logistics companies told the Confederation Lewiatan they are budgeting for an extra 5–7 % in trucking costs over the Christmas peak as a direct result of extended inspections.
For global-mobility managers, the summit outcome signals that border frictions inside Schengen will persist well into 2026, while Poland will remain outside any future intra-EU relocation system. Employers moving staff into or across Poland should therefore continue to factor in additional time for land-border crossings and expect Warsaw to tighten rather than relax work-authorisation vetting in the coming year.
