All eyes on refugees and Poland This WEEK

Migration will be on the agenda of the congress of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political family in the EU, who gather in Madrid on Wednesday-Thursday (21-22 October).

EPP leaders will discuss the wide-ranging approach they have toward the refugee crisis, with German chancellor Angela Merkel leading a welcoming policy at one end of the centre-right spectrum, and on the other, with Hungary’s Viktor Orban sealing borders.

“We must start by finding a European solution to securing our external EU borders,” party leader Joseph Daul said, promising the EPP will lead the way.

Feeding into the European Commission’s fight against anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia, justice ministers from Europe will gather in Brussels on Monday (19 October) to discuss how to respond to radicalisation.

Fish will also be on the EU’s plate this week, as, on Thursday (22 October), fisheries ministers are expected to reach political agreement on fishing opportunities for member states in the Baltic Sea for 2016.

Sunday (25 October) will see parliamentary elections in Poland, which might result in Warsaw becoming even more reluctant to participate in EU schemes on managing migration.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland’s former leader and the head of the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS), might once again be prime minister, as his party is leading polls with 36 percent.

The current leader of the country of 38 million, Ewa Kopacz, from the centre-right Civic Platform party, stands at 24 percent.