Recently it became known that a criminal group at the Polish Consulate-General in Lutsk was illegally issuing Schengen visas for a certain fee. This news was first published by a Polish newspaper Gazeta Polska. It has been generally known that one could receive a visa at the Polish Consulate by string-pulling. And many local periodicals have written that visas were sold just under the walls of this administrative building. Though the top-ranking Polish officials have been denying this information.
And then a scandal exploded, which received an immediate reaction from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One of the Volyn newspapers wrote that Polish border guards came across serious violations from the side of the Polish Consulate-General in Lutsk back in 2011. It was said that former officers of the Polish special services were engaged in illegal activities as well. Gazeta Polska informed that at least one consul, one driver, and one secret service official were involved in the scandal. Press secretary of the Polish MFA Marcin Bosacki stated that after the violations had been revealed, Polish foreign minister had made a decision to recall all visa consuls from Lutsk. Consul general Marek Martinek was temporarily suspended, since he has been the head of the consulate in Lutsk for less than a year. Previous consul general Tomasz Janik was transferred to a post at the Polish MFA in Warsaw last September after years of duty in Lutsk, when violations in visa issues were still supposedly occurring.
Taras LITKOVETS, political analyst, assistant dean at the History Department of the Lesia Ukrainka Volyn National University, political news anchorman at the FM-radio Lutsk:
“I am pleasantly surprised by the swift and effective measures Polish society is taking to fight the corruption. And it is upsetting that this happened at the Polish Consulate, because for Ukrainians Poland is a so-called gate to the European Union. If our neighbors consider corruption and bribery to be evil, they fight it on the full scale, as we can see, even in diplomatic service, instead of limiting this fight to a few branches: customs, law enforcement agencies, and education, as it is in Ukraine right now. Despite the fact that this scandal harms the international image of Poland, they do everything they can to eradicate this evil. And by doing so Poland sets a good example for Ukraine.”
Mykhailo SHELEP, political analyst, regional coordinator at the OPORA Civic Network (Lutsk):
“It is vexing that even consular institutions that function in Ukraine are infected with corruption. Even though the scandal involves Polish diplomats, it is going to leave a stain on Ukraine’s image too, since the violations took place on the territory of our country. Besides, I think that some part of blame lies with the Schengen zone countries, since they chose to issue visas through intermediary services, thus making the procedure more complicated. It would be a pity if the Consulate in Lutsk had to limit its operation because of this scandal. It is strongly desirable that its normal operation is restored, because a lot of people in our region need this.”
