Poland is considering the possibility of suspending visa-free travel for citizens of certain countries within the Schengen Area.
That followed the case of a 27-year-old citizen of Colombia who has been indicted for allegedly carrying out two arson attacks in Poland on behalf of Russian intelligence.
Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister who heads the country’s centre-left coalition government, told commercial broadcaster TVN24 on July 31 that his government was currently reviewing a potential formal request for an exemption from Schengen rules. That could allow Poland to reintroduce visa requirements for nationals of several countries.
According to Poland’s interior ministry, the countries under consideration for the exemption from Schengen rules included Georgia, Armenia, Colombia and Venezuela.
Tusk told reporters that citizens of former Soviet republics are for “obvious reasons” more vulnerable to being recruited by Russian intelligence.
He added, though, that in the case of Latin Americans, Poland faced a “European problem” of individuals entering Europe on tourist visas via Spain. which allowed them free and easy access to other Schengen countries.
Tusk stressed that his country would not hesitate to deport individuals who broke the law. “Anyone who commits a crime will either go to prison or be deported,” he said.
Poland recently detained 32 individuals suspected of allegedly working with Russian intelligence, including Russias, Ukrainians and one Colombian.
Although several of the people suspected of allegedly spying for Russia have, in the past, turned out to have Ukrainian citizenship, Tusk did not explain why Poland was not considering a similar course of action against Ukraine.
The indicted Columbian man faces a possible life sentence for alleged arson attacks in May 2024 in Warsaw and Radom. He had previously been arrested and convicted in the Czech Republic for a similar offence.
Also on July 31, Tusk also announced that his government was dissolving a commission set up to identify sources and instances of Russian influence in Poland.
It was put together up by the government in 2024 after the Tusk administration had dissolved a similar one set up by the previous Conservative (PiS) administration.
The PiS-aligned commission had in 2023 expressed the view that Tusk was not fit to hold public office in Poland again because of his involvement in the reset with Russia back in the period of his first government (2007-2014).
The commission formed by Tusk in 2024 had in turn criticised the PiS for failing to tackle Russian influence.
