Refugee drama on the Polish border
EU increases pressure on Belarus – foreign ministers agree on further sanctions
Large numbers of refugees have gathered near the closed Kuznica border crossing
© Oksana Manchuk / AFP
In the refugee conflict with Belarus, the EU increased the pressure on Minsk and decided on further sanctions. Meanwhile, the situation on the border is escalating. Poland is preparing for breakthroughs.
In the refugee conflict with Belarus, the foreign ministers of the European Union have initiated a further tightening of sanctions. In Brussels they agreed to an expanded sanctions regime, as announced by the Council of 27 Member States. This means that the EU can now also criminalize “the instrumentalization of migrants for political purposes”, said EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell.
According to the declaration, for the first time the EU can impose sanctions on those responsible and organizations that help Belarus “facilitate the illegal crossing of the EU’s external borders”. According to Borrell, the new punitive measures are intended to affect airlines, travel agencies and other responsible parties who are involved in the smuggling of migrants. According to diplomats, the sanctions list will be drawn up in the coming weeks.
In Brussels, Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) threatened to withdraw overflight and landing permits in Europe for airlines from third countries. The EU had already imposed a corresponding ban on Belarusian airlines in May. Maas also called “tough economic sanctions inevitable”. According to earlier statements, the SPD politician is thinking of the Belarusian potash industry, which is pouring foreign currency into the country’s coffers.
Lukashenko’s cynical game
The leadership of the ex-Soviet Republic of Belarus is accused of deliberately bringing migrants into the country in order to then bring them to the border with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia for onward travel to the EU. It is suspected that the ruler Alexander Lukashenko wants to avenge himself for the sanctions that the EU has imposed because of the repression of civil society and the democratic opposition
Aircraft leasing companies that have leased machines to Belavia include Danish company Nordic Aviation Capital and Irish company AerCap. According to information from EU circles, Belavia recently only leased significantly more than half of the aircraft it used.
According to video recordings by the Polish authorities, a large group of refugees has gathered at a closed border crossing between Poland. “More and more groups of migrants are being brought to the Kuznica border crossing by Belarusian troops,” said the Polish Ministry of Defense on Twitter. According to its own statements, Poland is preparing for border breaches.
Videos of the Polish border troops and the military apparently showed hundreds of migrants in front of rows of Polish police officers and soldiers. Vice Interior Minister Maciej Wasik spoke of “thousands of migrants” at the border crossing. The Polish troops are “prepared for any scenario”. The Polish border guard announced that “illegal immigrants” had been gathering at the border post since that morning. An attempt is being prepared to violently break the border.
Recently there had been repeated attempts by migrants to break through the border. The videos of the Polish authorities could not be independently verified as journalists are denied access to the immediate border area.
Thousands of people, especially from the Middle East, are currently stuck in freezing temperatures on the border with the EU member states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The EU accuses Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately smuggling refugees into the EU in order to retaliate for earlier sanctions decisions.
The stranded migrants should be able to return safely to their respective home countries – “In addition to the humanitarian aid that is now due, this is the right way for those who are in the border area,” said government spokesman Steffen Seibert in Berlin when asked whether it was Considerations for admitting some of these people in Germany or other EU countries.
The number of migrants entering via Belarus is falling
Meanwhile, the number of migrants entering Germany via Belarus is falling. According to preliminary figures from the security authorities on Monday, a total of around 225 unauthorized entries were registered on this route from Friday to Sunday. During the same period in the previous week, almost 400 foreigners were found who had previously been in Belarus. According to the German authorities, measures taken by the Polish border guards are one reason for the decline.