Poland most welcoming EU state

Poland is the EU country most willing to grant political asylum to refugees, reports Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. According to a recent Eurostat report, Polish officials last year okayed 65% of asylum applications – more than twice the EU average. A great majority of refugees (91%) seeking asylum in Poland come from Chechnya. Following in the Chechens’ footsteps are Georgians who have submitted a few thousand applications for asylum in the first half of 2009 – most which have been rejected, says Ewa Piechota from Poland’s Office for Foreigners. In 2008, EU countries granted political asylum to 7,400 refugees from Russia, 2,700 of them accorded by the Polish authorities. “Poland is more often seen as a rich country so we can’t prevent the influx of new immigrants”, says Jacek Białas from Amnesty International. According to a recent poll, 67% believe Poland should take in more refugees since many Poles that were persecuted under communism in the 80s were offered protection by the West.