Polish PM criticises EU policy as 'export of migrant problem'

Poland's new right-wing prime minister on Wednesday took aim at a hotly contested EU programme for the redistribution of refugees around the bloc, insisting that some members were using it to burden others.

"Attempts to export a problem that certain countries have themselves created without the input of other members cannot be called solidarity," Prime Minister Beata Szydlo told parliament in a keynote policy address ahead of a confidence vote her majority Law and Justice (PiS) government is expected to win with ease.

Referring to the Paris terror attacks, Szydlo also told legislators that her "government's top priority is the security of Poles."

Her comments come as last week's Paris attacks and the discovery of a Syrian passport near one of the assailant's bodies have revived the European debate on whether to take a harder line on migrants.

With Europe facing its biggest migration crisis since World War II, EU states have bickered for months on how to stem the flow and share out the new arrivals, the majority of whom head to wealthier members like Germany.

On Monday Szydlo said Poland would honour the commitments made by the previous liberal government, which agreed to host more than 9,000 refugees in the framework of the EU's relocation plan.

But her government has also vowed a harder line on  migrant crisis since -- even floating the idea of sending Syrians back to "liberate" their country.

- 'Middle income trap' -

Having vowed to 'fix' Poland, Szydlo said Wednesday that her government would make good on a long list of generous welfare promises by gearing economic policy to "escape the middle income trap."

In order to do this, Poland must create a more competitive economy and stop relying on cheap labour as a driver of growth, she said.

The EU member of 38 million has enjoyed continuous expansion since it shed communism a quarter century ago, with the economy expected to grow by 3.5 percent both this year and next.

Within its first 100 days, Szydlo said her government would make good on generous welfare promises.

These include a family allowance of 500 zloty (117 euros, $126) per child to boost low birth rates, lowering the pension age, higher tax exemptions for low income earners, introducing a 12 zloty (2.82 euro, $3.00) hourly minimum wage and free medicine for pensioners over 75 years of age.

Tax hikes for banks and foreign-owned supermarkets are also in the works, she added.

Critics of the PiS plan have warned it could destabilise public finances and weaken the Poland's robust banking system.

Analysts however have hailed the choice of veteran banker Mateusz Morawiecki for development minister, a portfolio revamped by the PiS to cover economy, the treasury and state finances.

A coal miner's daughter, Szydlo also vowed to keep "coal as the main source of Polish energy".

Last month, PiS-backed President Andrzej Duda refused to endorse an amendment to the UN carbon-cutting pact that would require the coal-dependent EU country to further reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

International experts have warned the decision "stalls the ratification process" on measures to reduce emissions just a month ahead of a landmark UN climate summit in Paris.
Source: AFP