The Parliamentary Investigative Commission on the Visa scandal will once again question former heads of the Intelligence Agency (AW). According to certain commission members, their testimony on Monday, both in the public and closed sessions, did not yield sufficient information.
During Monday’s hearings before the investigative commission, former heads of the Intelligence Agency, Piotr Krawczyk and Bartosz Jarmuszkiewicz, pointed out that intelligence operations are strictly confidential and that without proper authorization from the current head of the agency, they are not authorized to provide information of a classified nature.
Both admitted that the Intelligence Agency provided information regarding migration threats to relevant authorities, but they could not discuss the details in the public session. They responded to multiple questions simply with: “I don’t recall, I don’t have knowledge of that.”
Bartosz Jarmuszkiewicz confirmed that the Intelligence Agency had obtained information indicating “possible irregularities in the issuance of Polish visas,” but he could not address this issue during the public part of the session.
Piotr Krawczyk emphasized that migration threats have been, are, and will be for the Intelligence Agency to deal with, however, it is an institution with insufficient personnel and budget.
“Should it be involved to a greater extent? Yes, but each task should be supplemented by the necessary resources and means from superiors. Please compare the budgets of the Intelligence Agency with the budgets of other European countries and the number of personnel concerning, for example, the number of residents in a given country,” said Jarmuszkiewicz.
“Taking into account the number of challenges facing the state stemming from the East, the migration area, increased labor migration, and challenges related to new technologies, we should seriously consider this,” he said.
Part of Krawczyk’s hearing was classified. As summed up after the session by Maria Janyska (KO), the commission did not receive reliable answers to questions during the public part, and there was also a “significant amount of forgetfulness” in the closed part.
On Monday, the commission requested Col. Paweł Szota, the head of the Intelligence Agency, to release former AW leadership from the obligation to maintain legally protected secrecy. After obtaining consent, the former heads of the Agency will be re-questioned in a closed session.
The next meetings of the commission are scheduled for April 18 and 19.
Both admitted that the Intelligence Agency provided information regarding migration threats to relevant authorities, but they could not discuss the details in the public session. They responded to multiple questions simply with: “I don’t recall, I don’t have knowledge of that.”
Bartosz Jarmuszkiewicz confirmed that the Intelligence Agency had obtained information indicating “possible irregularities in the issuance of Polish visas,” but he could not address this issue during the public part of the session.
Piotr Krawczyk emphasized that migration threats have been, are, and will be for the Intelligence Agency to deal with, however, it is an institution with insufficient personnel and budget.
“Should it be involved to a greater extent? Yes, but each task should be supplemented by the necessary resources and means from superiors. Please compare the budgets of the Intelligence Agency with the budgets of other European countries and the number of personnel concerning, for example, the number of residents in a given country,” said Jarmuszkiewicz.
“Taking into account the number of challenges facing the state stemming from the East, the migration area, increased labor migration, and challenges related to new technologies, we should seriously consider this,” he said.
Part of Krawczyk’s hearing was classified. As summed up after the session by Maria Janyska (KO), the commission did not receive reliable answers to questions during the public part, and there was also a “significant amount of forgetfulness” in the closed part.
On Monday, the commission requested Col. Paweł Szota, the head of the Intelligence Agency, to release former AW leadership from the obligation to maintain legally protected secrecy. After obtaining consent, the former heads of the Agency will be re-questioned in a closed session.
The next meetings of the commission are scheduled for April 18 and 19.
Source: TVP World, PAP
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