Poland's national conservative government wants to hold a referendum on EU asylum reform and parliamentary elections on the same date, as holding separate votes would be more expensive, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday.
Warsaw opposes the EU reform project, but the referendum's outcome has no influence on the EU decision-making process.
Poland elects a new parliament in October, the exact date has not yet been set. The Law and Justice (PiS) government, in office since 2015, has come under pressure due to high inflation and numerous scandals.
The opposition therefore accuses the PiS of trying to mobilize voters with the referendum and populist sentiment against asylum seekers.
At the EU summit in Brussels on Friday, the 27 member states failed to reach a consensus on European asylum policy because of the stance by Hungary and Poland. Both countries reject a compromise, agreed by a majority of EU interior ministers at the beginning of June without their consent.
Among other things, the compromise stipulates that the acceptance of refugees should no longer be voluntary, but obligatory. Countries that do not want to take in refugees would be forced to pay compensation.
