EU advises on Belarus: responses to an “aggressive act”

Belarus is using migrants as a weapon – so the accusation of the EU in view of the many illegal border crossings into Lithuania. That is why the interior ministers are meeting today. It will also be about possible refugee movements from Afghanistan.

Since July, the number of refugees on the almost 680-kilometer-long external EU border between Lithuania and Belarus has risen sharply. A total of 4,300 illegal entries were registered this year, 600 in the first ten days of August alone, according to Piotr Switalski, spokesman for the border protection agency Frontex. He speaks of a “significant increase” since this section of the border normally records very few illegal border crossings. For example, there were just nine this March.

Two thirds of all migrants were of Iraqi origin, followed by citizens of the Congo and Cameroon. And the number of illegal border crossings has also risen in Latvia and Poland.

Revenge for sanctions

The refugee dispute with Belarus is a very serious security threat for the EU, said Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson. Minsk is using the migrants as a weapon to take revenge against the sanctions imposed by Brussels.

“We are dealing with a very aggressive act by the Lukashenko regime, with an unprecedented provocation to pressure and destabilize the EU,” said Johansson. That is why the EU has decided to help Lithuania quickly and directly – the European Union is standing on the side of Lithuania to protect the common external borders.

Asylum experts, interpreters and Frontex officials on site

In a first step, the EU is providing around 37 million euros in emergency aid, plus staff such as asylum experts and interpreters. In addition, the border protection agency Frontex has a kind of rapid reaction force on site.

127 officers, 30 patrol cars and two helicopters are currently stationed on the border between Lithuania and Belarus, reports spokesman Switalski. In this way, Frontex supported the Lithuanian colleagues in border controls, border surveillance and the registration, identification and control of migrants who cross the border.

Possible refugee movements from Afghanistan

For the Slovenian EU Council Presidency, fighting illegal migration is one of the greatest challenges of our time, said Slovenia’s Interior Minister Ales Hojs, explaining today’s special session. In this context, the participants will also deal with the refugee situation after the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan.

Even if one can only speculate about the concrete consequences so far, many interior experts assume that the local situation could lead to new migration movements. This would have an impact above all on the first reception countries such as Italy, Greece or Malta and rekindle the ongoing dispute over the redistribution of migrants within the EU.