Poland’s ambassador to Germany held a discussion at the Interior Ministry on Tuesday morning. The ministry in Berlin discussed a case involving irregularities in the issuance of visas, Reuters reported. Deputy head of the Polish Foreign Ministry Arkadiusz Mularczyk confirmed that Ambassador Dariusz Pawlos was at the Interior Ministry. – I think he reassured our German partners, and I think this meeting had such a purpose,” he said.
The dpa agency reported that German Interior Ministry chief Nancy Faeser has asked her Polish counterpart Mariusz Kaminski for information on the visa scandal. The agency, citing government circles in Berlin, relayed that Poland’s ambassador to Germany, Dariusz Pawlos, appeared for an interview with State Secretary Bernd Kruesser at Germany’s Interior Ministry on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the Polish embassy in Berlin confirmed to TVN24 that a meeting was held Tuesday between the ambassador and Germany’s deputy interior minister over the visa scandal. The invitation to the 9:30 a.m. talk was extended by the head of the ministry, Nancy Faeser, but the diplomat was eventually received by the deputy minister. The spokeswoman added that the result of the ambassador’s meeting with the deputy minister was an agreement that a conversation between the Polish and German interior ministers would take place at 2 pm on the same day.
Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Arkadiusz Mularczyk, referring to the summons, said that “it is a question of clarifying the accusations that some Polish and German media are making against Poland – in a completely unauthorized manner – in the context of the migration crisis.” – The ambassador explained that these are unauthorized allegations. I think he reassured our German partners, and I think this meeting had such a purpose,” Mularczyk said.
Reuters – citing its source in the German government – wrote that the Polish ambassador was summoned in Berlin to discuss reports of irregularities in the issuance of visas by Poland.
According to the agency, its source also conveyed that Berlin is awaiting clarification on the number of visas issued and information on who received them. The source added that Warsaw was also asked what countermeasures had been taken by the Polish government.
German broadcaster Deutsche Welle wrote Monday evening about the planned conversation with the ambassador, but also with Interior Ministry chief Mariusz Kaminski. According to a spokesman for the German Interior Ministry, quoted by the broadcaster, Berlin hopes that the Polish authorities will clarify the affair as soon as possible. At the same time, the spokesman noted that for the time being the German government does not expect the visa scandal to have implications for Germany. He added that Germany “has already significantly strengthened police measures on the border with Poland in the recent past.” – DW quotes his words.
Visa scandal
The National Prosecutor’s Office and the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau are investigating irregularities in visa applications. The opposition speaks of corruption and claims that hundreds of thousands of issued documents, much more than the prosecutor’s office claims, are suspicious.
