Seehofer calls for EU involvement in border security
Polish police officers stand behind a barbed wire fence with protective shields while migrants gather at the Belarusian-Polish border
Source: dpa / Leonid Shcheglov
Thousands of migrants from regions such as Afghanistan and Syria want to go to the West via Belarus, supported by its dictator Lukashenko. Federal Interior Minister Seehofer appeals to the EU Commission to support Poland: “I also say that we need the structural security of the borders”.
A.n in view of the tense situation on the Polish-Belarusian border the acting Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer Support from the EU. “We have to help the Polish government secure the external border. That would actually be the job of the EU Commission. I now appeal to them to take action, ”said the CSU politician of“ Bild ”.
Poland and Germany could not cope with the situation alone. On the eastern EU external border between Belarus and Poland, thousands of migrants from crisis regions such as Afghanistan and Syria want to go to the west.
The EU Commission however, according to its own statement, has already encouraged Poland several times to accept help. The EU border protection agency FrontexThe EU Commission said on Monday that the asylum authority Easo and the police authority Europol are ready to help with the registration of migrants, processing asylum applications and the fight against smuggling. Poland must, however, request this help.
Migrants at the Belarusian-Polish border near Grodno / Belarus
Source: dpa / Leonid Shcheglov
“Need structural security of the borders”
The EU throws the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko plan to have people flown in from crisis regions in order to smuggle them into the EU. In response to sanctions against his country, he had declared that he would no longer stop migrants on their way to the EU. There have already been several migrant deaths in the border region. The EU states Poland and Lithuania have in the past few months Thousands of border crossings reported. Germany is considered a main destination for migrants.
According to Seehofer, Poland has reacted correctly so far. He welcomed the construction of the border wall. “I also say that we need the structural security of the borders. We also have to publicly support the Poles, ”demanded Seehofer. The Polish government cannot be criticized for protecting the EU’s external border with permissible means.
The Interior Minister said that all EU countries had to stand together because Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was using human destinies to destabilize the West.
“All EU states have to stand together here because Lukashenko (picture), with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, uses the fate of people to defeat the West…stabilize, ”says Seehofer
Source: dpa / Nikolay Petrov
“Blackmail attempts against the EU”
The chairman of the conservative party group expressed himself in a similar way European Parliament EPP Manfred Weber. “Stricter sanctions against Lukashenko and those around him are necessary,” he told the newspaper. The deputy head of the CSU also criticized Turkey: “If the Turkish President Erdogan is now attempting to blackmail the EU by means of numerous migrant flights from Turkey to Belarus, an unequivocal answer is needed. ”The EU Commission must immediately start talks with the Turkish government.
“We see a total escalation at the border”
“We are seeing a total escalation of the situation,” says Poland correspondent Philipp Fritz about the situation on the Belarusian border. Up to 10,000 Polish soldiers have been relocated. The government sees not just a humanitarian crisis, but hybrid warfare on the part of Lukashenko.