Deadline day for Poland to brief the EU Commission on its cash-for-visas probe
The corruption investigation is taking place during a general election campaign where migration is a key issue for candidates.
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00:00 Germany's border with Poland. New checks on those travelling between the two countries
00:06 were introduced in the wake of the so-called visa scandal in the Polish government, where
00:11 allegations of corruption have been made over the issuing of European visas.
00:18 Today is the deadline for Poland to explain irregularities in its visa issuing procedures
00:23 in front of the European Commission. Allegations the country's central anti-corruption bureau
00:28 has been investigating since July 2022. The Polish government's provided limited information
00:35 on the ongoing investigation, but journalists have discovered new irregularities related
00:40 to intermediation in the visa application process.
00:47 [Polish translation]
00:54 [Polish translation]
01:01 [Polish translation]
01:21 VFS Global works with the Polish government and warns against dishonest, unverified intermediaries.
01:28 It denies it's been accused of wrongdoing in Poland.
01:33 We just deal with the administrative tasks, checking the forms, etc. We don't get involved in visa decision-making processes.
01:42 At no time since we've been working for the Polish government have any of our members of staff been arrested or investigated
01:51 for any wrongdoing related to Poland visa services. There was an incident recently where some members of our staff
02:03 have been accused of malpractice. That is for an operation related to another client government.
02:10 And the moment we discovered these allegations, we immediately informed the local police.
02:17 The visa scandal, but also the rising numbers of unregistered crossings on immigration routes,
02:22 whether through Russia and Belarus or the Balkans, have made all Polish borders more closely monitored recently.
02:28 [Polish translation]
02:41 The subject of migration is one of the key themes of the election campaign. The approach to the issue and solutions
02:48 proposed by politicians will have a big impact on how Poles will vote in less than two weeks' time.
02:54 Magdalena Chodovnik for Euronews from SÅ‚ubice.
02:57 [SWOOSH]