© Associated Press
– Footage from a video of the Belarusian border service showing migrants gathering to cross the Lithuanian border together.
The European Union has accused Belarus of carrying out a “direct attack” on it, pushing migrants across the EU border and expressing determination to strengthen its external borders in order to counter Minsk.
This is clear from a statement by the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU after today’s video conference of the interior ministers of the community on the crisis on the Lithuanian, Latvian and Polish borders with Belarus. The meeting was convened at the urging of Lithuania, which is under increased migratory pressure from Minsk, from where thousands of migrants, mostly Iraqis, are entering the EU.
“This aggressive behavior, which is emerging as a recurring practice by various third countries, is unacceptable and a direct attack aimed at destabilizing and putting pressure on the EU,” the statement said after the meeting.
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It added that the EU would continue to consider how to respond in order to “deter all future attempts to instrumentalize illegal migration”.
The EU accuses the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko of organizing the arrival of thousands of people at the borders of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in response to sanctions imposed on Minsk by the European Union, after the accident with the Ryanair plane in May.
The ministers expressed solidarity with the countries concerned and instructed the European Commission to help them financially according to their needs.
“We have agreed to send additional experts and teams from the agency (EU Border Agency), as well as the necessary technical equipment in these countries, to help increase reception capacity and to call on the European Commission for additional financial assistance and, in particular, for strengthening control of the EU’s external borders, “said Slovenian Interior Minister Ales Hoys, who is chairing the meeting.
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The problem has been exacerbated by the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on Sunday, raising fears of a new wave of migration to Europe. The Slovenian presidency of the EU announced on Wednesday night that it is convening an extraordinary meeting of interior ministers, this time for Afghanistan, as the day has not been specified yet.
Warsaw sent troops to the border
Poland, meanwhile, said it has sent more than 900 troops to help guard its border with Belarus.
“The Polish army supports border guards in defending the border with Belarus … More than 900 soldiers are taking part in this operation,” Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blasztzak said on Twitter.
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A statement from the Polish Interior Ministry said more troops and police could be sent if needed.
The ministry said 2,100 people had tried to cross the Polish-Belarusian border illegally this month, including 138 in the past 24 hours. Of these, 1,342 were obstructed and 758 were detained. TVN24 reported that about 50 people had set up a makeshift camp on the border.
Throughout 2020, 122 illegal migrants were detained at the Polish-Belarusian border.
The Polish government said on Tuesday that it had passed a bill to speed up the process of deporting illegal migrants.
A total of 4,124 people – mostly Iraqis – crossed into Lithuanian territory illegally this year, mainly in July. Since the beginning of August, they are only 14 after the EU agreed with Baghdad to suspend charter flights. Vilnius announced on Wednesday for incident at its border, in which Belarusian border guards entered Lithuanian territory, trying to push illegal migrants there.
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